Winds, rain wreak havoc for homeowners, music lovers

High winds and heavy rains caused problems in the South Island and lower North Island yesterday.

Gusts of more than 110km/h were recorded near Kaikoura, damaging homes and bringing down power lines.

"This morning we had a roof off a house, a roof off a shed, power wires down, a campervan just about flipped over - and now we've got iron flapping around on a roof we've got to sort out," said chief fire officer Ian Walker.

Police in Masterton reported trees uprooted by strong winds and Metservice weather forecaster Erick Brenstrum said parts of the Tararua Ranges received about 200mm of rain yesterday morning.

The downpour fed into the Ruamahanga River, causing the closure of the Martinborough Bridge on State Highway 53.

Diversions were put in place, forcing people heading for a Martinborough concert by US group the B-52s to divert through Carterton.

The concert was eventually cancelled because of high winds.

The front petered out once it hit Auckland, but caused an overcast Saturday with the promise of light showers tonight.

Brenstrum said Auckland's weather would improve next week. "In the middle of the week it doesn't look too bad. It might be that there's the odd shower of the Waitakeres, but sunny in the rest of the city."

And the longest day would see lots of sun next weekend, he said: "The most intense sunlight of the year is around December 21."