Gales up to 130kmph are expected in parts of Fiordland, Stewart Island, the
Catlins, inland Canterbury, Marlborough, Wellington and Wairarapa on Tuesday,
according to Metservice which still has a severe weather warning in place.
Heavy snow is expected in Fiordland, Westland, Buller and parts of
Southland.
On Monday boaties and residents in coastal areas of Southland and Stewart
Island were being urged to prepare for a storm predicted to produce six metre
swells, 150kmph gales and power cuts.
However, Southland's Emergency Management manager Neil Cruickshank told NZ
Newswire on Tuesday morning that the weather hadn't been as rough as initially
expected.
"It looks like the weather system dropped further to the south so we didn't
get the extreme winds we were expecting," he said.
Both the fire service and police said they've had no reports of
weather-related damage, accidents or other incidents.
Invercargill Senior Sergeant Dave Raynes said there was a strong wind blowing
in the city on Tuesday morning but it was warmer than usual with a high of 5C
predicted.
As the low moves away from the southeast of the South Island a chilly
southwest flow will spread across the country, according to Metservice.
Weatherwatch predicted severe gales, heavy rain and thunderstorms around
Stewart Island and "some of the biggest seas on the planet around New Zealand"
on Tuesday.
A statement says snow is expected in the lower South Island with the
possibility of tornadoes in southwestern areas.
"This is a nasty storm and if we plonked the current weather map over the
tropics you'd swear you were looking at a tropical cyclone," said head weather
analyst Philip Duncan.
NZN