MetService says the threat of heavy snow and severe gales has now passed, but locals in Breaker Bay, Wellington are still on alert as heavy swells threaten their homes.
Wellington's mayor declared a state of emergency today for the south coast, with homes in Breaker Bay ordered to evacuate.
Mayor Andy Foster said he was advised that houses on Breaker Bay Road between numbers 53 and 194 needed to have residents evacuated before the situation turned dangerous for residents and emergency services.
Advice from MetService and NIWA in the past few hours indicated southerly swells of 6m or more could present a significant risk to life and property if they overtopped areas alongside the south coast as they did in April 2020 and in 2013, he said.
Wellington Emergency Management followed that up with an order at 4.30pm for those homes to evacuate immediately.
Powerful waves, strong winds and snow have hit parts of the country, as a blast of Antarctic air pushes across Aotearoa.
Flights and ferries have been cancelled and schools were closed. The Desert Road remained closed early this afternoon, and snow warnings for the central North Island were set to remain in place until this evening.
MetService issued a warning for large swells on the capital's south coast for the 41 hours from 6am on Tuesday to 11pm on Wednesday.
Look back at how the weather played out across the country:
More than 20 flights in and out of Wellington were been cancelled and Interislander sailings for Tuesday have also been cancelled. Wednesday cancellations are also likely. All Bluebridge freight and passenger sailings have been cancelled today and on Wednesday morning.
Gale south to southwest winds brought bitterly cold conditions across much of the South Island, which are expected to ease from Tuesday afternoon.