Wet and windy weather causes outages and flooding across North Island

Strong winds and heavy rain are lashing parts of the country as several areas in the North Island report flooding and power outages.

Rangitikei District Council, in the Manawatu-Whanganui region, says the wild weather is causing multiple electricity outages in the area.

Powerco estimates power won't be restored to customers in Wanganui, Martinborough, Inglewood and Stratford until tomorrow.

The cuts have affected 153 properties, according to the electricity provider's website.

A council spokesman says he's in Whanganui where high winds are ripping through the city.

Flooding in Wellington is also causing headaches for some

The Petone Working Men's Club has reported flooding several centimetres deep on the ground floor of its Lower Hutt building.

The front pounding the north was forecast to move eastwards across New Zealand today, bringing heavy rain and gale-force winds for many areas.

Isolated thunderstorms were forecast to hit western regions across the South Island early this afternoon.

A few lighting strikes had been recorded this evening, a MetService spokeswoman said.

The active front - currently over Fiordland - continued to move towards the North Island from late this afternoon, but with a lower chance of thunderstorms.

Heavy rain warnings have been issued for the West Coast, Buller, Nelson, the north and west of Marlborough, Upper Hutt, and Mount Taranaki.

Watches are in place for heavy rain across Fiordland, Taranaki, Waitomo, Ruapehu, Wanganui, and Opotiki.