For the rest of the country it was a similar story with wet weather predicted to continue north up the West Coast of the South Island, but it would beginto ease on Wednesday.
MetService meteorologist Karl Loots said a front was moving from central Westland to Nelson and northern Marlborough early this morning, bringing a moderate to high risk of thunderstorms and heavy rain.
"It is a pretty typical autumn westerly set up over the country this week, with a couple of cold fronts, and some storms in western areas."
The first front will move rapidly over the North Island late in the morning, with a moderate risk of thunderstorms from western Northland to Taranaki and Bay of Plenty, and also from Horowhenua to Wellington.
There will also be heavy rain in places, strong wind gusts up to 90km/h and a chance of tornadoes from Taranaki to Auckland.
Heavy rain warnings are in force for Fiordland, Westland, Buller, northwest Nelson and Mt Taranaki, through to mid-to-late morning. The heaviest rain is expected from Westland to Fiordland, where 170mm may accumulate about the ranges.
The front has already dumped about 93mm rain in Milford Sound, 80mm in Arthurs Pass and 72mm in Westport.
It was a very wet weekend for parts of Auckland, with 50-80mm falling over the past 60 hours - the majority over Friday and Saturday.
Loots said the worst of the week's weather would hit this morning.
"The main weather for the next few days will be this morning. After that will be generally showery westerly flows, but no more severe weather."
Last night Vector said the number of businesses and homes without power in Auckland was below 1500.
"The approximate number of those homes or businesses still without power and/or hot water due to the storm is between 500 to 1500, but will continue to fluctuate due to weather conditions and ongoing tree fall which is causing new or additional damage.
"The majority of those suburbs where main supply lines have been affected by the storm are expected to be restored before the morning," a spokeswoman said.
However, the number of places affected would "continue to fluctuate due to weather conditions and ongoing tree fall which is causing new or additional damage".
On Sunday Vector released restoration times for power outages.
Some locations - like Greenhithe, Devonport, Silverdale and Takapuna - may have to wait until next Sunday.
They would have had no power for almost two weeks by then.
The spate of bad weather which had felled many trees in the Auckland region prompted a call for Aucklanders to better understand their responsibilities regarding owning trees near power lines.
"With the big power outage still affecting thousands of people in both urban and rural Auckland the clean-up and repair effort is shedding light on what just went wrong this time," said WeatherWatch analyst Philip Duncan.
"The fact is, Auckland has a warm climate - trees grow very fast here and as a result they are bigger and more likely to break."
He said "people with trees on their property near power lines need to be keeping a close eye on things each and every year".
Duncan's call came as Vector staff narrowly avoided being hit by a tree that fell while they were on a callout.
From midday today there would be an improving weather trend across the country, Loots said.
Another cold front arrives in Fiordland and Westland tonight, bringing rain up the west coast to Buller by tomorrow morning.
The front will weaken as it makes its way on to the North Island, with brief periods of rain from Taranaki down to Wellington, and the odd shower north of there.
On Wednesday and Thursday there will be a cool westerly flow over the country, with occasional showers in the west, but plenty of fine spells across the North Island.
On Friday morning another front will arrive in Fiordland, but it will be much weaker than those hitting today.
Today's weather
• Whangarei
Rain developing this morning, briefly heavy, then clears this afternoon. Westerly change. 24C high, 15C overnight.
• Auckland
Rain and possible thunderstorms develop this morning then clears this afternoon. Northwesterlies. 22C high, 16C overnight.
• Hamilton
Rain, chance thunder, clears this afternoon. Northwesterlies. 22C high, 13C overnight.
• Tauranga
Rain, possibly heavy, clears during afternoon. Northwesterlies. 22C high, 15C overnight.
• New Plymouth
Rain with thunderstorms, then a few showers. Winds change strong westerly. 21C high, 15C overnight.
• Napier
Rain at times then becoming fine this afternoon. Northeast changes westerly. 24C high, 11C overnight.
• Wellington
Rain, chance thunder, clears afternoon. Strong northerlies. 19C high, 14C overnight.
• Nelson
Morning rain, heavy and possibly thundery, becoming fine afternoon. Northwesterlies. 19C high, 10C overnight.
• Christchurch
Brief morning rain, then fine. Northerlies easing. 20C high, 9C overnight.
• Dunedin
Cloud and possible showers this morning, then fine. Northerlies. 18C high, 10C overnight.
