A 14-year-old was forced to walk home in a storm after his Hop card was blocked - but his father insists it had more than $20 credit on it.

Almost a week after a damaging storm, some Auckland residents were still without hot water last night while the last few houses were having their power restored.

A Titirangi resident says a live power line has been left on his driveway since Wednesday's storm, and Vector is responding sluggishly.

A Glen Eden family are fed up at being without power three days after an Auckland storm, despite numerous calls to their power company.

Much of the North Island is expected to bathe in sunshine over the next couple of days, providing some relief after the storms that caused flooding and damage.

The heavy rain is easing for most of the North Island and will move off tonight.

A prehistoric land mass once connecting Britain to mainland Europe may have been wiped out by a 5m-high tsunami, according to new research.

Jerry Starr thought he was taking the safe approach when a twister was reported heading towards his suburban neighbourhood outside Oklahoma City last May.

The worst of the miserable weather that caused havoc through parts of the country is over but some will be spending the long weekend cleaning up the mess.

Cyclone Ita has hit far north Queensland's coast with wind speeds of more than 200 kilometres an hour.

Severe weather from Tropical Cyclone Lusi could cause more trouble for Christchurch residents struggling with last week's storm clean-up, weather forecasters say.

The remnants of Tropical Cyclone Lusi are on track to hit New Zealand this weekend, forecasters say, with the North Island likely to bear the brunt of the storm.

"It's going to be a waiting game the next few days." Forecasters are watching as a potentially damaging tropical storm forms, which could hit the North Island.

Five jets that were set to land at Heathrow and Gatwick during the Valentine's Day storm were forced to issue distress calls as they were thrown around "like paper planes", it has been reported.

Three people have died in the latest storms across Britain, but as they finally ease the Met Office warns the country will be gripped by ice.

Last year was one of the most expensive years ever for storm damage, with $174m of insurance claims lodged for weather-related events.

Extreme versions of the El Nino weather phenomenon could double in frequency in the next 100 years.

Officials in Tonga say it's 'almost unbelievable' there weren't more fatalities in the devastation caused by a powerful cyclone that smashed 400 houses.

Tropical Cyclone Ian has cleared Tonga leaving in its wake the death of at least one person and the destruction of infrastructure.

At least one person has been killed in a cyclone that has ravaged parts of Tonga, as organisations rushed to get supplies to thousands of people affected.

Wild winds are set to crash into the capital and Wairarapa overnight, MetService warns.

Roads are freezing over across the US Midwest as residents brace for a three-day polar blast so cold it could make hypothermia and frostbite set in within minutes.

Australia was battling weather extremes yesterday with South Australia hit by its first tropical storm for 15 years, just as the state's north faced a catastrophic bushfire risk.