A tornado, floods and king tides wreaked havoc across the country yesterday.

The outlook for winter is average to above average temperatures with cold snaps and normal rainfall.

Warmer, wetter, wilder that's the forecast as the days get shorter and NZ heads into winter.

The country's skifields have had an early taste of snow, with 10-15cm falling yesterday on the upper slopes of Mt Ruapehu's Whakapapa field.

A "worst-case scenario" tsunami for Auckland would swamp the Viaduct and make Devonport an island, a council report shows.

An invasion of tropical fish previously unseen in New Zealand waters could be an effect of global warming, a marine expert says.

Thirty-five jobs may be up for the chop but affected staff are being consulted before any decisions, Niwa says.

Summer might be over, but a lingering La Nina pattern could give us another month's swimming.

The North Island's golden weather has created concern about heat-related injuries, as people and animals languish in the heat.

Hundred-year-old records are tumbling as unrelenting heat sets NZ on course for its hottest February ever.

A developing tropical cyclone could threaten New Zealand next week, a weather prediction website has warned.