Autumn storm brings wild weather across the country

Wild weather has battered the upper South Island and much of the North Island prompting warnings for severe gales, heavy rain and thunderstorms.

MetService yesterday issued heavy rain warnings for Buller, Nelson and severe weather alerts for large parts of the central North Island. Conditions were not expected to ease until this morning.

The warnings extended to motorists returning from longweekend holidays, cautioning them to be on the lookout for surface flooding on roads and slips.

Rain lashed Nelson, Wellington, Taranaki, Tongariro National Park and the eastern ranges of Bay of Plenty early on Monday.

In Christchurch, rain cleared yesterday morning but heavy falls set in during the afternoon with the mercury dropping following a southerly change. Surface flooding created problems for traffic in parts of the city.

MetService duty forecaster Nicole Ranger said most areas would get some respite overnight.

‘‘Most of the North Island seems to have a warning of some sort.

‘‘Peak falls are expected for those areas throughout the morning and afternoon, and the rain is not going to ease until overnight [Monday].’’

The heaviest falls were expected in the ranges of Nelson and Mt Taranaki, where more than 200 millimetres could accumulate in 24 hours.

‘‘This is a significant amount of rain even for these areas and people there are advised that rivers and streams will rise rapidly and that surface flooding and slips are likely, as well as hazardous driving conditions,’’ MetService said.

In Nelson, the swollen Maitai River was providing an adrenalinfilled opportunity for kayakers.

Adventure tourism students Isaac London and Hamish Watters embraced a ‘‘playwave’’, which only forms when the river floods and rises high as the water rapidly flows down.

London and Watters were at the river, wet weather gear in tow, by 9am and spent the next two hours battling the wave with adrenalin pumping.

The strong current and crashing waves could be a cause for safety concerns, but the pair, both training to be sea kayak and raft guides, had plenty of safety equipment on hand, including helmets, ropes and life vests.

‘‘If you know what you’re doing, then it’s safe as.’’

Watters, who battled the wave ‘‘dozens of times’’ in the pouring rain yesterday morning said the Maitai River had been higher than he had ever seen it.

It was predicted to be an ugly day in Wellington, with a howling northerly, gusting 130kmh, forecast. But that failed to materialise and the strongest wind gust as at 3pm was only 87kmh at Wellington Airport as blue sky started to push through the clouds. Ferry sailings and flights were unaffected.

Heavy rain cleared from Otago and Southland yesterday morning but light rain persisted throughout the day.

Severe weather warnings were lifted in Westland and Fiordland but rain continued into the evening.

This is a significant amount of rain even for these areas and people there are advised that rivers and streams will rise rapidly and that surface flooding and slips are likely, as well as hazardous driving conditions. Nicole Ranger MetService duty forecaster