Strong winds have brought down trees and cut power to hundreds of properties in Canterbury.
NIWA's wind map on 18 July, 2022. Photo: Twitter/ NIWA
About 2000 Orion customers and 500 MainPower customers in North Canterbury were affected by power outages due to storm damage.
A further 600 people covered by EA Networks and 300 from Alpine Energy were without power in South Canterbury.
Strong wind warnings have been in place for much of the South Island today. Heavy rainfall is also expected inland, east of the Southern Alps, leading to increasing river flows affecting low-lying areas.
MetService said Ashburton and Dunedin airports recorded gusts of 107km/h this morning.
Multiple local authorities, including Dunedin, Queenstown Lakes and Timaru, are reporting trees down around their districts.
The Haast Pass is closed due to fallen trees, and State Highway 94 to Milford Sound is also closed due to avalanche risk.
One person driving from Christchurch through to Tekapo told RNZ a large number of trees have fallen on the road between Christchurch and Ashburton.
Ashburton District Council has closed its landfills in Ashburton and Rakaia today as a result of the winds, and its emergency operations centre is on watch.
Look at all our stations that have topped 100km/h so far today! pic.twitter.com/6oxuRGqKXV
— MetService (@MetService) July 18, 2022
Waka Kotahi said conditions were likely to be particularly treacherous in some areas overnight and urged motorists to stay alert and up to date with notifications.
"Our crews have been working hard all day responding to power lines and trees down across South and mid Canterbury, and with severe winds forecast overnight driving conditions will be hazardous," said South Island journey manager Tresca Forrester.
"There is also limited visibility from dust clouds affecting some highways in inland Canterbury.
"Anyone travelling in a high sided vehicle, motorcycle an towing vehicles should delay travel if possible in areas with strong wind warnings currently issued.
"We're asking everyone take extreme care of the roads and if they can avoid travel overnight where visibility and conditions will be dangerous they should do so."
The wind warning is set to continue until 9am Tuesday 19 July and the rain warning along the main divide is currently forecast to last until 1pm Tuesday 19 July.
Civil Defence on alert
Canterbury Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) Group has activated the emergency coordination centre in response to the severe weather.
CDEM Canterbury group controller Sean Poff said it was expecting the peak to hit overnight tonight and into tomorrow.
"Several Council Emergency Operation Centres have been activated throughout the region, others on stand-by ready to activate. All agencies are monitoring the situation and liaising on potential responses needed."
Widespread power outages due to the wind were also expected to continue, Poff said.
"We expect these to generally be restored within 6-12 hours in daylight, but you may need to be prepared for power outages to last longer."
The weather was particularly bad this time because it was unusual for it to reach so far east from the tops of the Southern Alps, he said.
Ski fields brace for gusts
Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton
Some South Island ski fields have decided to batten down the hatches and close for the day due to the strong winds.
In Canterbury, Mt Hutt ski field made the call yesterday, saying winds in excess of 200km/h were expected.
Mt Dobson, Temple Basin, Porters Alpine Resort, Roundhill, Craigieburn and Ohau all followed suit due to the conditions.
Further south, the gale force winds forced Cardrona Alpine Resort and Treble Cone Ski Area to close for the day.
Treble Cone said the large storm was already delivering winds in excess of 90km/h, heavy precipitation and very poor visibility by breakfast time.
