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.

President Barack Obama vowed that the United States would stand behind Oklahoma as it struggled to fill the "empty spaces" left by the devastating tornado.

Delegates at the USNZ Pacific Partnership Forum meeting in Washington DC have expressed sorrow at the loss of life in the Oklahoma tornado.

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

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.

Winter storms continued to blight virtually the whole of Britain, with heavy snowfalls in the Midlands, Yorkshire and Wales, road and airport closures, and thousands left without electricity.

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.

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

Further New Zealand support for cyclone-battered Samoa and Fiji has been announced, bringing the combined total to $820,000 so far.

Samoans in New Zealand are still anxiously waiting to hear how their loved ones fared after Cyclone Evan hit.

Two ships were grounded and houses thrown through the air as winds of up to 270km/h uprooted trees and homes force hit Fiji during Tropical Cyclone Evan.