Not surprisingly, there were power cuts. .
Powerco said around 350 Wanganui customers lost power on Saturday night due to high winds causing a fault in its electricity network.
Dean Stevenson, Powerco's acting network operations manager, said the power cut happened at 6.30pm but supply was restored to all but 12 properties around midnight.
"Field crews are working to restore supply to the remaining customers," Mr Stevenson told the Chronicle yesterday.
As those gale-force winds continued their sweep across the central and lower North Island, they brought trees down across overhead lines.
Field crews had to battle blustery conditions as they worked to repair damage in the Wairarapa and Tararua districts. At one stage, Powerco said supply was lost to 2800 properties.
There were no reports of damage in the city, although Wanganui District Council member Ray Stevens lost several mature pine trees on his property in Montgomery Rd.
"I lost about eight trees. They're about 25 years old and in a small plantation I've got," Mr Stevens said.
"They're planted above a hard iron-pan base and I've lost a few before, but only when the winds come through really hard like they did last night," he said.
Similar heavy rains were recorded through Waimarino. .
Rivers across the region have been swollen by the rains but not to warning levels. By mid-afternoon yesterday, the Whanganui River was running at 4.5 metres above normal.
But the storm is an entree to the first of some true winter weather heading our way, MetService warning a very cold burst is coming.
It was expected to move on to the South Island late yesterday, bringing snow to near sea level in the far south. Snow was also likely about the central North Island high country for a time this morning, but amounts were not expected to be significant.
Forecasters said a period of rain was expected before dawn today, followed by showers turning to snow in the morning, and that would affect the Desert Rd. From mid-morning today until early afternoon 1-2cm of snow might accumulate on the road.
A ridge of high pressure should spread over much of the country later today and early tomorrow, bringing clearing conditions, but that was expected to lead to widespread frosts over the entire country overnight on Monday, with severe frosts likely over inland central North Island tomorrow.