Campers at Totaranui Abel Tasman National Park had a near miss when a tree came down on some of their tents. They had moved into a caravan shortly before due to bad weather. Photo: Supplied / Warwick Fitzsimmons
Wild weather has continued to batter much of the country today, leaving thousands of properties without power.
Emergency officials in Horowhenua say some-storm ravaged parts of the district may be without power overnight.
Horowhenua District Council says there is significant damage between Shannon and Tokomaru and those areas may not be restored tonight.
In the Kāpiti district, properties in the Ōtaki Gorge Road area may also be without power overnight.
State Highway 57 remains closed between between Tane Road and the Foxton-Shannon Road because of fallen trees on the highway.
About 10,000 properties lost power in the Tasman district after trees came down on powerlines, but Network Tasman aimed to restore the vast majority by 4.30pm this afternoon.
Powerco's website shows about 1000 properties spread around the Coromandel Peninsula, Palmerston North and Taranaki remain without power.
About 700 customers are still without power in the Paraparaumu area.
One NZ said more than 50 of its cell sites are out of action due to power outages.
MetService reported that the wettest weather has moved off Gisborne and Hawke's Bay, with just the odd shower remaining.
However, rain has moved further south, while several Heavy Rain Watches and Warnings remain in place for the next couple of days.
Gusty southeasterlies continued today, especially over the South Island where an Orange Wind Warning remains in place this afternoon.
A strong wind warning was in place for Marlborough Sounds, Nelson and the West Coast north of Fox Glacier for much of the day, with Wellington under a wind watch until 9pm.
Heavy rain watches were in force for the Tararua District and Wairarapa until 4pm, and the Kaikoura Coast until 9pm.
While Wednesday does not see winds as strong as the past few days, winds will still be noticeable for most.
Thunderstorms will be something to keep an eye on throughout Wednesday, with localised intense rain and strong gusts possible.
This includes Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Taranaki, Manawatu-Whanganui, Kapiti, and Wairarapa, and northern Wellington in the North Island, as well as the West Coast Region in the South Island.
Tauranga City Council has cancelled all five of its community New Year's Eve events because of the bad weather forecast.
The council said weather reports indicated heavy rain and strong winds during event set-up, with conditions highly likely to continue into Wednesday. It said fireworks displays would hopefully still take place from various locations around the city on New Year's Eve.
Cleanup continues
In the parts of the South Island, strong winds brought down trees overnight.
- Has your holiday been disrupted by the weather? Email iwitness@rnz.co.nz with your photos or information.
Fire and Emergency said State Highway 7 over the Rahu Saddle, between Reefton and Springs Junction, was affected.
State Highway 6 also had trees coming down, particularly through the Whangamoa Hills between Nelson and Blenheim.
Firefighters were still being called out into the evening across the North Island, taking the total number of weather-related jobs to about 140 in Auckland, Northland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty.
PowerCo said hundreds of properties remain without power north of Whanganui, and around Palmerston North and Feilding.
The roof of an unoccupied home in the Auckland suburb of Hillsborough came off in high winds and scattered debris down the road. Photo: RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson
Campground holidays disrupted
Campground managers in the North Island are hoping for sunnier weather leading up to New Year's after a lashing of wind and rain.
Wild weather battered much of the North Island on Monday, disrupting campers, causing power outages and downing trees.
In Auckland a roof was torn off an unoccupied home in Hillsborough, as fire crews responded to more than 100 weather-related callouts.
The manager of Kūaotunu Campground on the Coromandel Peninsula, Yvette Davey, said the weather had caused a bit of disruption on Monday.
"We have had a couple of campers that their tents were destroyed so they had to go home, other than that people are hunkering down, it's settled down here," she said.
Leanne Mills, the owner of Long Bay Motor Camp in Coromandel said campers were not too put off by the wet weather.
Campground managers in the North Island are hoping for sunnier weather leading up to New Year's. Photo: Ruth Kuo
"We've had a bit of rain [on Monday] but we've been lucky campers have just used it as a crash day, just chill out, read a book, sleep," she said.
"We've just got continued support from our regulars, mostly 90 percent Kiwis, so they'll come and just meet up every year with the same people year after year and they don't really care if it rains."
Festivalgoers for New Year's events such as Rhythm and Vines in Gisborne have been warned to watch out for wild weather on the roads.
See how today's weather events unfolded with RNZ's live blog:
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