Wind, not rain, proved to be the weapon of choice for the southerly storm that blasted through Hawke's Bay at the weekend.

A fine and mild Queen's Birthday weekend is ahead for the North Island, but forecasters say it's the calm before another southerly storm sweeps across the country.

The temporary freezing of Dunedin's economy in this week's snowfall "ground the city to a halt" and cost "upwards of $10 million," a commerce expert says.

Heavy frosts expected tonight could lead to treacherous driving conditions in the morning.

The bitterly cold snap that has brought snow and freezing conditions to many places is set to ease today, with warmer temperatures and clearer skies expected.

As winter sets in Kiwis are being urged to take care with their gumboots after injury complaints were made for everything from bent fingers to strained groins.

A polar blast that closed schools, cut power, cancelled flights and mail deliveries and caused chaos on roads will continue to chill New Zealand this morning.

Grim-faced and shaking his head in shock at the scale of the destruction, Barack Obama walked through the tornado-ravaged Oklahoma City suburb of Moor.

Many houses have "just been taken away. They're just sticks and bricks," Gov. Mary Fallin said, describing the 27 kilometre path of destruction.

Soon after a monstrous, deadly tornado slammed into the community of Moore, Tiffany Thronesberry's phone rang. Her mother was screaming down the line.

Aucklander Cam Rhodes has described a darkening sky, running from golf ball-sized hail and the sound of a "bomb exploding" as lightning caused a large electrical fire.

A powerful tornado has swept through a Midwestern US state leaving up to 91 people dead.

A monstrous tornado roared through Oklahoma City suburbs, destroying an elementary school as children and teachers huddled against winds up to 320 kph.

Tornadoes ravaged parts of Oklahoma yesterday, reducing portions of a mobile home park to rubble and killing a 79-year-old man whose body was found out in the open.

Forecast sunshine for the upper North Island today is expected to dry up a saturated country after heavy downpours cut power to hundreds of homes and flooded buildings.

Most of the debris has been cleared and repairs have begun, but residents of a tornado-ravaged Auckland street have long gone.

Samoans are breathing a "heavy sigh of relief" this morning after a tropical cyclone passed dangerously close to the capital.

Thunderstorms are being forecast for the lower North Island, with the possibility of hail greater than 20mm in diameter and wind gusts of 110kmh.

While fires burn across southeastern Australia and the northwest braces for Tropical Cyclone Narelle, Australia's volatile weather has produced a spectacular red dust storm.

A small tornado has hit the Mayfield Golf Course near Ashburton, accomplishing four seasons' worth of pruning in four minutes.

New Zealand has sent desperately needed supplies to cyclone-ravaged Samoa and Fiji as thousands remain in evacuation centres and vital services are cut off.

Thousands remain in evacuation centres as the clean-up continues in Samoa and Fiji in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Evan.

Fijians has began cleaning up after the effects of Cyclone Evan, which left a swathe of destruction after battering the Pacific nation for more than 12 hours.

A state of natural disaster has been declared for 15 days in Fiji as the Pacific nation begins the clean-up in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Evan