Nearly 300 homes are still without power in Auckland as crews work to fix faults following stormy weather over the weekend.
A tree that was brought down on a suburban street in Mt Eden in Auckland. Photo: Supplied / Vector Energy
The power cuts, which are in small pockets around the central and eastern areas.
A spokeswoman for the lines company, Vector, said a fault on Marsden Avenue was proving difficult with five teams working through today to replace seven power poles.
Meanwhile in Maraetai, just 10 homes were now without electricity, after a car hit a power pole, initially cutting power supplies to 400 properties.
SH73 to re-open
The Transport Agency says State Highway 73 near Arthur's Pass will re-open to one lane tomorrow, with progress on clearing a slip on the Lower Otira Gorge.
The agency said from tomorrow morning, the highway would have one lane open for 10 minutes on the hour between 8am and 7pm.
It said people needed to factor in extra time for the journey until both lanes reopen.
Heavy downpours in Southland
Summer storms are continuing to drench much of the country, and heavy rain has closed several southern roads.
The Clutha District Council said at least 11 stretches of road were closed, and it was monitoring river levels.
At least four Southland roads were also closed due to surface flooding.
Heavy rain over the past two days has swollen the Waikaia river, which cut off the Waikaia township's main north and south access roads last night.
Campground caretaker Graeme Coats said the river had already started to recede, and a gravel access road out of Waikaia to Gore is open.
Mr Coats said one group of holiday makers was forced to spend an extra night in the town, but the impact to the town had been minimal.
MetService has warned that another active front is expected to hit the country tomorrow night. This front will be preceded by a strong northerly flow, which will bring heavy rain to the west of the South Island, and gales to much of southern and central New Zealand.
Cadrona clears snow for summer sports
The freak snowfall which hit Cardrona Alpine Resort over the weekend will take some time to clear off the tracks, to make the mountain ready again for summer activities.
Around 30cm of snow fell at Cardrona Ski Field. Photo: Facebook: Cardrona Ski Field
At least 30cm of snow was recorded yesterday morning at the base of the resort in the Central Lakes District, and staff expected there were even deeper pockets of snow higher up the mountain.
Spokesperson Matt McIvor said it went from mid-summer to mid-winter overnight.
He said if a similar size snowfall had happened in winter, they would have been thrilled.
"The early fall yesterday was quite dry, and quite nice for those who like the fluffy goodness, but it looks like it's melting - it's blue skies today. But it'll take a while, because there is a lot of it, but it is definitely on its way now."
Mr McIvor said the freak snow had come during the resort's busiest summer season.