Strong winds that cancelled Wellington flights on Tuesday have calmed into the afternoon.
Several Air New Zealand flights were cancelled earlier in the day, including from Dunedin and to Queenstown and Nelson.
A passenger on an Air New Zealand flight from Auckland that landed at Wellington just before 11am said the pilot had warned passengers they might have to return to Auckland.
“I’ve had worse landings but still kind of wild, but the pilot managed to put it down very neatly.
An airport spokeswoman said the disruptions were likely to continue into the afternoon as the high winds were forecast to pick up again.
A strong front was coming through Wellington just after noon but the strongest northerly winds were likely to have come just ahead of it on Tuesday morning, MetService meteorologist Claire Flynn said.
Gusts up to 140kmh were expected during the morning, and overnight winds had been strong.
Winds at Mt Kaukau above Wellington gusted to 133kmh on Monday evening and stayed around 110kmh through the night.
Kelburn gusted to 128kmh, Wellington Airport to 104kmh, and the Rimutaka Hill to 113kmh.
The wind was no match for Laura Roche of Newtown, who went for her daily swim on Tuesday in Evans Bay.
"It’s not too bad,” she said, adding she had swum in much worse in Wellington.
“When it was sleeting - those were interesting swims.’”
MetService meteorologist Emma Blades said the “super windy” conditions were expected to stick around till Tuesday evening.
A series of fronts were moving up the country and wind was funnelling through Cook Strait creating strong winds for Wellington.
Trees, powerlines and unsecured structures would be at risk of being toppled and blown away and driving conditions would become hazardous for high-sided vehicles and motorcycles.
Wellington’s East by West Ferry had reduced services due to the wind on Tuesday.
Sailings on its larger vessel would leave Days Bay for Wellington at 6.50am, 7.45am, and 8.35am.
In Wainuiomata on Monday a power line came down cutting power to hundreds of homes.
The Fire Service on Tuesday had not had any weather-related call outs.
News Source : stuff.co.nz