A state of emergency has been declared for the Whanganui district due to an increasing threat of flooding from rising rivers.

Wild winds are have been lashing Auckland city today, with shattered windows< lifted roofs and runaway trampolines.

A Tauranga man is hoping to make it home in time for his delayed 21st birthday celebration today after wild winds prevented him leaving Wellington yesterday.

When branches came through her open driver's window Emma Gates slammed on her brakes, stopped in the middle of the road and crouched under her steering wheel.

It was a battle by everyman heroes against everything the weather and terrain could throw at them.

A major thunder and lightning show is playing out over Wellington, reportedly causing flash flooding through the city.

A Christchurch wildlife park is in mourning after a much-loved ostrich died in Tuesday's storm.

The wintry blast that has caused havoc around the country is easing its icy grip but forecasters warn more of the same is on the way.

Flights and ferries resume services in and out of Wellington, as the country copes with a cold snap that cut power to thousands.

Wind, not rain, proved to be the weapon of choice for the southerly storm that blasted through Hawke's Bay at the weekend.

A fine and mild Queen's Birthday weekend is ahead for the North Island, but forecasters say it's the calm before another southerly storm sweeps across the country.

The temporary freezing of Dunedin's economy in this week's snowfall "ground the city to a halt" and cost "upwards of $10 million," a commerce expert says.

Heavy frosts expected tonight could lead to treacherous driving conditions in the morning.

The bitterly cold snap that has brought snow and freezing conditions to many places is set to ease today, with warmer temperatures and clearer skies expected.

Grim-faced and shaking his head in shock at the scale of the destruction, Barack Obama walked through the tornado-ravaged Oklahoma City suburb of Moor.

President Barack Obama vowed that the United States would stand behind Oklahoma as it struggled to fill the "empty spaces" left by the devastating tornado.

Delegates at the USNZ Pacific Partnership Forum meeting in Washington DC have expressed sorrow at the loss of life in the Oklahoma tornado.

Many houses have "just been taken away. They're just sticks and bricks," Gov. Mary Fallin said, describing the 27 kilometre path of destruction.

Soon after a monstrous, deadly tornado slammed into the community of Moore, Tiffany Thronesberry's phone rang. Her mother was screaming down the line.

Aucklander Cam Rhodes has described a darkening sky, running from golf ball-sized hail and the sound of a "bomb exploding" as lightning caused a large electrical fire.

A powerful tornado has swept through a Midwestern US state leaving up to 91 people dead.

A monstrous tornado roared through Oklahoma City suburbs, destroying an elementary school as children and teachers huddled against winds up to 320 kph.

Tornadoes ravaged parts of Oklahoma yesterday, reducing portions of a mobile home park to rubble and killing a 79-year-old man whose body was found out in the open.

Forecast sunshine for the upper North Island today is expected to dry up a saturated country after heavy downpours cut power to hundreds of homes and flooded buildings.