The Maori Language Commission says that it has approached TVNZ, TV3 and the MetService about using the Maori word for "tomorrow" in future weather broadcasts.

The country will continue to shiver today as a south westerly flow ripples up the country, MetService says.

At least a dozen families were in a welfare centre last night after one of the longest and most damaging storms in years lashed the country.

Tonight will be the third cold night without power for thousands of households as more stormy conditions continue to batter the top of the North Island.

Thousands of people are still without power across the north following a severe storm which battered the country over the past two days.

People in the upper North Island will need a jacket and umbrella as wet weather sweeps the country this week.

Auckland motorists travelling on low lying sections of the city's motorway network tonight are being warned to beware of flooding due to a king tide and strong winds.

Thought it was chilly this morning? You weren't wrong. Temperatures plummeted overnight - and this time the North Island got the worst of the winter blast.

Waikato, Taranaki and the Kapiti Coast would be "lit up like a Christmas tree'' tonight, with thunderstorms hitting the North Island's west coast, according to MetService.

MetService is pushing further into global markets with a business aimed at more accurate forecasting for the shipping and oil and gas industries around the world.

High temperatures and scarce rainfall helped make last month one of the driest Marches on record in many places.

It could be time to unfurl the brolly and dig out the raincoat from the back of the wardrobe as rain looks set to hit much of the country this weekend.

Downed power lines fell into a nearby paddock in Kaeo, while strong winds caused a tree to topple across a road in Parahaki, north of Whangarei.

Cantabrians blasted by yesterday's destructive tornado are "rolling up sleeves" and doing their own clean-up in classic Kiwi can-do style.

Summer has returned for most parts of the country, but the lack of rain may be causing concern for some.

Stock up on snarlers and chill the beer - most of the country is in for "barbecue weather" tomorrow, says MetService.

The showers that greeted Big Day Out revellers this morning are set to clear, with most of New Zealand in for a fine weekend.

A boisterous front that hammered Wellington with damaging gales today will push up the country but should weaken overnight.

Most of the country is in for fine weather this weekend, with just a small risk of an isolated shower for Auckland's Santa Parade, Metservice says.

The two mountaineers who died on Mt Taranaki had little chance of surviving for two nights and a day in their shallow hole in the hard snow and freezing wind, says a leading local guide.

Another soaking is ahead for most of the country this weekend, with only the west coast of the South Island escaping the deluge.