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.

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.

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

Only a freakish combination of weather conditions could see a storm with the force of Cyclone Yasi reach New Zealand.

As the floodwaters left in the devastating trail of Cyclone Wilma subsided yesterday, so the tales of heroism and helping emerged. New Zealanders - many facing clear-ups of their own - came together to help those affected worse than

I've had a fascination with tropical storms since I was a kid. I love so much about them. Their unpredictability. Their power. Their names. (Hurricane Igor last year has got to be one of the best).