It's official: The bad weather is over, at least for this month.
"It's over. We've moved away from frightful February to mellow March," Metservice spokesman Bob McDavitt said today.
The high that had arrived over the North Island was expected to stay.
"Certainly for the next few weeks it looks pretty settled," Mr
McDavitt said.
The clean-up continued today after devastating storms and floods last month left countless roads blocked in the lower North Island.
Two major sections of state highways in the lower North Island remain closed today.
State Highway 54 between Vinegar Hill and Colyton on the outskirts of Fielding opened today, with extreme care urged, Transit Wanganui regional manager Errol Christiansen said.
SH43 between Stratford and Taumarunui also opened. But SH4 from Raetihi to Wanganui and the Manawatu Gorge were all still closed, Mr Christiansen said.
After shovelling away the last major slip, workers hoped to have an idea by this weekend how long the Manawatu Gorge would take to re-open, but he believed it would be "weeks".
The lower North Island has been hit by its worst flooding in 100 years, with some damage estimates as high as $200 million.
Heavy rain also caused flooding in the central North Island last weekend. Several homes in Turangi were flooded after the Turangi River burst its banks on Saturday.
- NZPA
