‘Take this one seriously’: Wind warning for Wellington downgraded, snow in South Island
Thursday, 1 May 2025
Wellingtonians have been warned to stay inside and homes are without power as severe winds and heavy swells hit the capital, while in the South Island there is flooding and, in the Mackenzie District, snow.
On Thursday morning MetService upgraded its Wellington wind warning to red, reserved for the most severe weather events. The warning was later downgraded to orange.
Residents in Ōwhiro Bay are being strongly advised to consider alternative accommodation.
Due to a red wind warning and anticipated higher tides, compared to this morning, there is a risk of debris on the roads.
Ōwhiro Bay Road to the west of Happy Valley Road is closed until Friday morning, restricting some access to the area.
An Emergency Assistance Centre has been set up at Ōwhiro Bay School.
Wind speeds had reached at least 150kph in exceptionally exposed areas and 118kph elsewhere, and were expected to peak at 1pm with gusts up to 140kph possible, MetService said.
Flights and ferries were cancelled, along with a host of events in the city, with workers also being sent home as a precautionary measure.
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There was a reported “threat to life from flying items and falling trees”, MetService warned.
It advised people to stay indoors, seek shelter away from trees and avoid travel, and be ready for power and communication outages.
The winds could damage trees, powerlines and unsecured structures and could lift roofs, said Dan Neely, Wellington Region Emergency Management Regional spokesperson.
“We know that strong wind warnings are fairly common for our region and it’s easy to get complacent, but Wellingtonians should take this one seriously and be prepared.”
Winds were expected to begin to ease into this evening.
In Canterbury, a state of emergency has been issued for the Selwyn District, with roads closed, evacuations and schools shut. In the Mackenzie District, people woke to snow, while in Auckland severe wind gusts led to speed restrictions on the Harbour Bridge.
Wellington
The capital was warned to be on alert as high winds were expected to worsen during the day and a high tide around 8pm would coincide with forecast large swells.
This afternoon the Wellington City Council closed all public facilities. Libraries and archives shut at 3pm while pools and recreation centres close at 4pm. All sports fields were closed, as was Te Toi Poneke arts centre.
People were being asked to stay away from the Town Belt and other reserves due to the risk of falling trees.
The Royal New Zealand Ballet has cancelled its 7.30pm performance of The Firebird with My Brilliant Career at the St James Theatre on Thursday saying “the safety of our audience, artists and staff is paramount”.
Roads were hit by surface flooding, flights and ferries were cancelled, and Victoria University closed at midday for all teaching due to the wind.
Wellington Electricity said there were 1165 homes without power in Kelson, Belmont, Wainuiomata, Avalon and Epuni shortly before 2pm. It was not expected to be restored until 11pm.
Up on Mt Kaukau, the weather station was a likely casualty of the wind, with the last winds it recorded up to 150kph. MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris told Stuff it hadn't been online for at least three hours.
The Wellington City Council urged people to stay indoors if possible and to take extra care if travelling. Multiple trees were down around the city, it said.
Moa Point Rd was closed due to waves and debris covering the road, and drivers were told to avoid all roads on the south coast. The roads would close if conditions worsened, the council said.
Ferris said a maximum wave height of 11.5 metres had been recorded in the harbour by a Greater Wellington Regional Council buoy.
MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said the unusually high wind’s southerly direction made Thursday’s weather different to big northerly storms. Structures and trees were accustomed to wind from the other direction ‒ but not from the south at the strength expected on Thursday.
Makgabutlane said while expected to be less severe, the weather system had similarities to a June 2013 storm that caused havoc around the city with a concrete sea wall in Island Bay shattered, tress uprooted and homes badly damaged.
Waves up to 6 metres had been recorded in Cook Strait and were expected to rise to 7m.
Heavy swell warnings were in place for Wellington, the Kāpiti-Porirua coast and in Wairarapa.
Wellington Airport’s arrivals and departures board showed a sea of cancelled flights on Thursday morning, while the Cook Strait ferries were cancelled and public transport was disrupted.
“As the wind is likely to continue throughout the day, we’re offering flexibility for those with travel to and from Wellington,' Air New Zealand said in a statement.
“Customers are encouraged to self-serve and change or defer their travel plans where possible. Where eligible, this can be done via ‘manage my booking’ through the Air NZ app or our website.”
Most flights in and out of the capital were cancelled until 6pm due to the severe winds. There were four departures during the morning and one missed approach by a Jetstar flight from Auckland.
Hutt City Council warned drivers that Port Rd in Seaview was closed due to flooding across both lanes. Port Rd was due to open briefly at 3.30pm to allow people home then close, with Marine Drive, from 4om due to unsafe conditions and a high tide, th council said.
Rubbish pickups were delayed around the city, and there was surface flooding around Hutt Park Rd in Moera.
Earlier, Hutt City mayor Campbell Barry said Marine Dr to Eastbourne was “pretty borderline” with high tide and big waves. Contractors were closely monitoring the situation.
Hutt Valley trains were also delayed, cancelled or bus replaced due to the weather. Metlink closed Ngauranga Station for the day.
A signal fault around Ava Station was also causing trains to be delayed with Metlink advising that delays could be around 15 minutes.
Hutt City Council had cleared a slip on the Wainuiomata Hill Rd but said there was a risk of further slips. Power had been restored to homes which lost it early on Thursday.
A slip on SH2 Remutaka Hill Rd closed a southbound lane and motorists were warned to drive with caution. In South Wairarapa, Cape Palliser Rd was closed after it was engulfed by the sea with logs and debris washed ashore.
Canterbury
Heavy rain saw a state of emergency declared for the Selwyn region, with flooding and rivers rising.
Emergency services and Civil Defence volunteers were working with the Selwyn Huts community to self evacuate due to rising river levels and the likelihood that the access road will be cut off.
The main road in and out of Banks Peninsula was closed, and several schools had closed for the day including Lincoln High School, Leeston School, Tai Tapu School, Ellesmere College and Darfield High School.
All day there were road snowfall warnings for the Lewis Pass (SH7), Arthur's Pass (SH73), Porters Pass (SH73) and the Lindis Pass (SH8).
In Ashburton 109mm of rain had been seen in the last 24 hours, Ferris told Stuff. The town would usually see 82mm in the whole month of May.
The Christchurch aerodrome had seen 80mm today, compared with the average of 58mm in May.
Ferris said the rain was expected to calm down this evening.
“It's still good to hunker down for the rest of the day because its going to continue to rain.“
– Additional reporting by Stuff