Lanes have reopened on Auckland’s Harbour Bridge, but speed reductions remain in place and Waka Kotahi warns temporary full closure may be required amid strong winds this afternoon.
Lanes were closed in both directions for an hour and the speed limit was reduced to 30km/h as winds picked up at 11am.
Traffic is moving slowly from Ellerslie on the Southern Motorway with gridlock around Spaghetti Junction for northbound traffic.
Delays extend to the Northwestern Motorway as city-bound traffic builds behind jams heading north.
MetService has issued a fresh swathe of weather warnings for much of the North Island, with hazardous and potentially damaging gales now forecast for Coromandel and Auckland’s Great Barrier Island.
Story continues after live blog
Story continues
Coromandel and Great Barrier Island are both under orange strong wind warnings from 3pm this afternoon through to 9pm tonight.
The forecaster said gales in these regions could reach up to 120km/h in exposed areas.
“Strong wind gusts could damage trees, powerlines and unsecured structures. Driving may be hazardous, especially for high-sided vehicles and motorcycles.”
Auckland, Northland, Waikato, Waitomo and Bay of Plenty west of Whakatāne are all under strong wind watch from 3pm to 9pm today.
MetService said another period of severe gales is likely for Coromandel and western Bay of Plenty on Tuesday and further warnings and watches may be issued.
Aucklanders could face more disruption on the roads today after Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency last night warned that the bridge was likely to be closed from midday to 9pm today if winds reached red alert strength of 90 to 100km/h, as forecast.
Watch: Inside the Auckland Harbour Bridge control room - who decides to close it
Auckland’s transport network will also be further disrupted today with the loss of the Eastern train line and the lessened frequency of the Southern line.
AT Transport said in a statement this was due to an electrical fault between Puhinui and Ōtāhuhu.
Southern line services will operate at a reduced frequency of trains every 20 minutes, and the Eastern line is out of action completely. Crews are going to attempt to fix the fault on Monday night.
Rail replacement buses will run every 10 minutes between Manukau and Ōtāhuhu.
Scheduled bus services across Auckland will also accept train tickets as well as AT HOP cards, including the AirportLink which travels every 10 minutes from Manukau to Puhinui.
MetService has issued a raft of severe weather warnings and watches to be in place over the coming days, as a strong southwesterly flow continues to deliver rain and wind across swathes of the country.
Most of the North Island was under a strong wind watch, with the potential for west-to-southwest winds to reach gale-strength later today from Northland to Whanganui, and Taranaki to Hawke’s Bay.
“Most of the central and northern North Island can expect to see some pretty strong winds on Monday afternoon and evening, and also parts of the South Island,” MetService metrologist David Miller said.
Highlighted in yellow are regions under Strong Wind Watch for tomorrow. Note that NI areas starts tomorrow afternoon, while SI areas start from tomorrow morning. https://t.co/qHyE5zzql5 for full details. @AucklandCDEM @NZcivildefence @WakaKotahi_news pic.twitter.com/vh2gZec89B
— MetService (@MetService) July 1, 2023
While the mercury wasn’t forecast to drop too low in northern centres this week – Aucklanders could expect typical mid-winter highs of 16C – Miller said showers and gusts could make for “nippy” conditions outdoors.
“If you’re out in the wind, it’ll feel a bit miserable.”
Severe gales were possible throughout Monday in Nelson, across Marlborough south of Blenheim and over the lower South Island, which has so far borne the brunt of the wintry weather system.
Forecasters are warning those southern regions could also be hit with heavy rain today – potentially reaching warning levels – after a major dumping of snow over the weekend.
Residents in Dunedin, West Otago and Southland reported heavy snowfall yesterday morning, with an estimated 20 to 40 centimetres falling in some areas, and some homes in the small town of Tapanui facing the cold without power.
Another 15 to 20cm was forecast over much of Otago, Fiordland and Southland last night, with snow reaching elevations down to 100 metres in places.
While the white-out conditions made for perilous driving on many roads – some motorists found themselves stuck on Manuka Gorge Highway (SH8) in Otago, where officials were forced to close two other routes – the big freeze wasn’t bad news to everyone.
The dump allowed Canterbury’s Mt Hutt Ski Area to reopen yesterday morning, and also delivered about 12cm of fresh snow to Queenstown’s Remarkables, where ski field groomers got to work creating a new trail.
Nowhere was the snow perhaps more welcome than Mt Ruapehu, where operators reported about 20cm of new snow just as thousands of visitors flocked to the mountain for opening weekend.
With a Government bail-out having saved the 2023 season, operators hoped to soon open all lifts and terrain if snow and weather conditions allowed.
Further snow had been forecast to drop over the area last night, with the potential for one or two centimetres to settle on the Desert Rd.
Overnight last night, the Desert Rd in Taupo was forced to shut due to the icy conditions.
Miller said today’swindy weather was likely to continue tomorrow, with coastal parts of the South Island also in the firing line for strong southwesterlies on Tuesday.
There was also a moderate chance that severe southwesterly gales could affect Stewart Island, the south of Southland, Clutha, Dunedin and North Otago tomorrow.
“Those winds will start easing during Wednesday and into Thursday, as a ridge of high pressure starts developing in the west.”
Latest Severe Weather Watches and Warnings have been issued. Some key points: Parts of NI and upper SI under Wind Watch tomorrow, and a Heavy Rain Watch kicks in for Southland/Clutha from early tomorrow morning (after the Heavy Snow Warning expires). https://t.co/qHyE5zzql5 pic.twitter.com/bSrXSUrise
— MetService (@MetService) July 1, 2023
Until then, he encouraged people to take care.
“If you’re going out on the water, check the forecast first, and if you’re travelling in the South Island, be very aware of the road snow warnings that we have in place – we don’t want people getting caught out.”
Kiwis should also enjoy the late-week reprieve while they could: another band of rain is coming from the west and is expected to arrive this weekend.
Further into the season, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) has predicted a higher chance than in previous winters of more cold systems blowing up from the south, as a long-anticipated El Niño climate pattern beds in.
Jamie Morton is a specialist in science and environmental reporting. He joined the Herald reporting team in 2011 and has spent the past decade writing about everything from conservation and cosmology to climate change and Covid-19.
Te Ngae Rd's speed limit will rise from 50km/h to 60km/h after a review.