“We have had some hail and sleet, and maybe a bit of snow, but it’s not settling — it's just really cold,” a spokeswoman said.
The wind blew trampolines around back yards in the city, one into the river.
Some trees fell victim. On the back of Hospital Hill a huge pine fell over and blocked the track to Valley Road.
One resident beyond the tree is able to get out through the top but the tree suprised many walkers and runners who regularly use the route for exercise.
It is understood the tree belongs to the Gisborne District Council. Civil defence kept an eye on the storm situation over the weekend.
Rain has been steady with a farmers rain gauge at Tiniroto showed about 98mm over the last 36 hours up until yesterday lunchtime.
Eastland Network this morning still have some customers without power.
“Right now we are working to get power back on for about 28 customers in the Woodlands (Wairoa) and Waimatatini (Ruatoria) areas. But we will be contacting Unison once all our own customers have had supply restored,” said spokeswoman Kathy McVey.
State Highway 2 closedState Highway 2 between Napier and Wairoa was closed for a time on Saturday night.
The highway is open to traffic today but NZTA advises motorists to take “extreme care” when drivng in wintry conditions.
There is also a warning of ice on SH2 in the Waioeka Gorge between Matawai and Otoko.
It was also a case of Kentucky fried no-chicken over the weekend, as road closures on State Highway 2 and 5 meant delivery trucks were among those that could not make it through to Gisborne, effecting the region’s food and hospitality industry. One result of this being KFC running out of chicken.
Owner and director of Weatherell’s Transport Steve Weatherell, said three trucks were forced to go the long way from Napier, through Rotorua on Saturday night.
“The trucks were carting supermarket goods into Gisborne and taking produce back out to distribution centres in Palmerston North and Wellington.”
Aside from electricity, people had to go without a variety of foods, at a range of outlets including Pak’nSave, Countdown and most cafes without backup generators.
Cheap frozen chicken before it thawedPak’nSave has a backup generator so stayed open during the outages. However they were selling frozen chickens for $1.50 as store freezer temperatures dropped. Countdown closed for the duration of outages.
Tairawhiti Roads journey manager Helen Harris said while there were no road closures on the Tairawhiti Roads network, contractors had worked overtime to keep things going.
“We had planned and positioned crews to be able to respond. That planning took place on Friday. I’m really pleased that our contractors took the early warnings that came to us and delivered a plan to me for action. They worked on shifts throughout the weekend. Well done Downer.”
NZTA highway manager Wayne Oldfield said State Highway 2 closed at 10.48am on Saturday due to flooding at Sandy Creek near Tutira Lake (north of Napier). There were also several slips and fallen trees across the road.
The road reopened at 11.14am on Sunday.
“The forecast over the coming days is for showers only and we are not expecting State Highway 2 Napier to Wairoa to close again. However, weather and road conditions can change rapidly and we advise people to check the latest weather and road updates before they get on the road.”
Ms Harris said State Highway 2 to the south remained under caution.
“Our contractors will be monitoring conditions throughout this week. The weekend’s conditions are a timely reminder for people, if they are planning to travel over winter, to be safe and plan ahead.”
