Violent Weather caused chaos in the NI overnight.

[JennyLeez]

Violent weather caused chaos in the North Island overnight as a winter storm swept up the country.
Thousands are still without power this morning and numerous roads have been closed.
Wellington copped the worst of the winter storm, as dangerous conditions forced crews fixing downed powerlines to put down their tools for the night.
There are 30,000 homes without power in the capital, including Lower Hutt, Wainuiomata, Miramar, Makara, Porirua, Titahi Bay and Whitby. Power may remain cut off until midday in some areas
The Wellington Fire Service received more than 900 emergency calls last night – a number of which were for damaged homes and surface flooding.

The weather has caused Seatoun School, at the entrance to Wellington's Harbour, to shut its gates today.

All flights and ferry sailings into and out of the capital have been cancelled until further notice.
The Interislander's largest ferry, Kaitaki, was torn from its mooring in the high winds. The vessel is now anchored in Point Jerningham. The Interislander will review its evening sailings later this morning.

Rail lines have also been damaged, cutting a number of services.
Several major roads into and out of the city are closed, including State Highway 1 southbound from Ngauranga Gorge where heavy sea swells are pushing onto the road and carrying stones from the railway lines with them.

While snow covered most of the South Island yesterday, it has been falling in the central North Island overnight.

State Highway 1 between Rangipo and Taihape has been closed due to snow, along with State Highway 48 in Tongariro National Park.

Auckland faced severe gales, thunder, lightning and hail overnight, damaging 12 houses in Stanmore Bay. One person was injured when lightning hit a tree, knocking it over and into two homes.

Parts of the North Island are still set for strong gales this morning and a MetService severe weather warning remains in place for Northland, Auckland, Coromandel Peninsula, Taranaki and Whanganui. Winds could reach up to 150km/h in exposed areas.

Snow still covers most of the South Island, cutting off several towns in Otago and Canterbury.

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[JennyLeez]

 The storm that rolled up the country yesterday - blanketing parts of the South Island in near-record levels of snow - smashed the lower North Island overnight. Emergency operation centres in Christchurch and Auckland were diverted to deal with Wellington's woes.

At its peak, winds gusting up to 200kmh damaged buildings and tore trees from the ground. Lashing rain caused surface flooding and, at times, up to 30,000 residents were without power. Conditions were so treacherous that some council and power companies stopped their workers from carrying out repairs.

This morning, the weather continues to play havoc with transport links around the Wellington region, with train, ferry, air and bus travel all hit. Dozens of mainly primary schools have closed for the day. Power remains out for up to 28,000 households.

 The rail line between Petone and Wellington is closed - so train services between the Hutt Valley and Wellington have been cancelled until further notice. The line between Waikanae and Paekakariki is also closed, with signal problems likely to cause delays between Porirua and Wellington.

All school bus routes have been cancelled this morning, a NZ Bus spokeswoman said. Commuter buses are not travelling into Eastbourne or Wellington's south coast and, with Wellington's trolley bus network hit by power cuts, serious delays are expected.

All ferries and flights to and from Wellington are cancelled. The Interislander ferry Kaitaki remained sheltering in Wellington Harbour this morning, after breaking its moorings last night.

Wellington Region Civil Defence controller Bruce Pepperell said all highways in the region were open - but conditions were still marginal and extreme care would be needed by motorists.

Many smaller roads remain closed by slips, fallen trees and other debris included Paekakariki Hill Road, both roads to Makara Village and Makara Beach and Middleton Road, between Johnsonville and Churton Park.

 Resident of the hard hit south coast of Wellington, Karen Brodie, said The Esplanade had been "trashed".

"It's like a bomb's gone off. I've never seen anything like it," she said.

"The road has been completely ripped up.

"Debris, including logs, seaweed, sand and a ripped up bench seat were on the road," she said.
Stuff.co.nz

[Phil]

Yep, that pretty well somes it up, We have a lot of tree damage and driving to work was a dodgum track, many small slips, and a few trees down, a few shop signs have blown off and we have some water damage in the shop.
never mind a cup of coffee always helps, expecting a quite day here in the shop

[Weather Display]

the severe gales for northland and auckland have been cancelled now
there was some good squalls and gust in the thunderstorms in auckland last night, but there was not actual perisistant severe gale force winds in the auckland area...instead they were further north..the far north recorded gusts to 75 to 80 kts

[gabba]

Power came on back here at 9am. C urrently 5.6C blowing 30KPH Max gust last hour = 87kph

[TokWW]

Rougher and colder in the South Island though...  A Venezualan now living in Hamner Springs for 5 years, tested his resolve...
 
Stripping down when it's coming down

Last updated 05:00 21/06/2013 

ASHLEIGH STEWART



NICE DAY FOR IT: Lenin Lunar strips down for lunch in Hanmer Springs yesterday.


While most Cantabrians were taking refuge from the snow inside under a pile of layers, Lenin Lunar braved the blizzard for an outdoor lunch - in just his underwear.

Lunar, who relocated to Hanmer Springs from Venezuela five years ago, was on his break from work at the Heritage Hotel when a colleague snapped him almost starkers.

However, the occasion was no casual dining experience - Lunar's near-naked antics were a tradition since moving to New Zealand.

"I always take a picture almost naked in winter - every year I take one," he said.

More seasoned to scorching temperatures and sprawling beaches than blizzards, the South American native admitted the concept of snow caught him by surprise at first and he was "still getting used to this".

While he only lasted 10 minutes in the bone-chilling conditions before calling time on lunch, he did not rule out another outdoor romp when more snow had settled.

"Maybe for dinner," he said.

HAHA!  Brave man...


http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8823001/Stripping-down-when-its-coming-down