As the country recovers from the storm that battered parts of New Zealand on Tuesday, another blast of bad weather is on its way.
Thunderstorms and heavy winds caused widespread damage in Auckland and the Taranaki region, leaving thousands without power.
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- Why Auckland was hit so hard by storm
- Weather live updates: Air NZ warns of 'significant disruption'
The wintry blast also caused the first major snow of 2018 in parts of Canterbury.
Metservice meteorologist Tom Adams says another fast moving southerly front will make its way up the country overnight on Thursday.
He says the second blast will be "short lived," and is expected to be gone by 3am Friday.
Strong winds could hit already battered Northland, Auckland, Coromandel Peninsula and Waikato with a heavy wind watch in place.
A burst of heavy rain could also hit western areas of the South Island and many parts of the country will experience strong southwesterly winds, Mr Adams says.
"It's unfortunate changeable classic autumn weather."
This next wintry blast won't be as bad as the "chaos" of Tuesday, but with already damaged unsecured branches and power lines people should be wary of the potential of further damage or falling items, he says.
Friday looks to be mainly fine across the country before the third blast of short-lived heavy rain and westerly winds strike on Saturday, mainly hitting the West Coast of the South Island.
By Sunday things should warm up across the country, with sunshine and highs in the mid teens and twenties returning to most of the major cities.
Newshub.
