Gale-force winds and huge swells are battering the South Island and Wellington with more wild weather set to gust its way right into Sunday.
The blustery weather is due to an intense low-pressure system creeping its way up from the bottom of the country.
WeatherWatch forecasts nor'westers to hit the lower North Island on Saturday at speeds of up to 120km/h, with the very worst of the wind reaching 130km/h in Southland and Otago.
There is a strong wind watch set for Wellington, Wairarapa, and Canterbury and strong wind warnings in place for the lower South Island for Saturday and in place for the rest of the evening.
NZTA cautioned drivers travelling along Remutaka Hill, asking people to take extra care if they are in a high-sided vehicle or riding a motorcycle.
The Wellington region is also set to experience massive swells - there's a heavy swell warning in place from 8am Sunday with southerly swells expected to rapidly rise to 4.5 metres, easing to 3.5 metres by Sunday night.
MetService reminds Wellingtonians to take caution, tweeting: "heads up Swellington" and warning that the highest risk period for the swells will coincide with high tide which is at 11:44am on Sunday.
The mid to top of the North Island welcomed a calmer Saturday with a fine but cloudy day, temperatures ranging between 20C in Hamilton and 26C in Gisborne.
Rain and colder temperatures will hit the North Island by Sunday though with temperatures dropping a couple of degrees and all northern and eastern areas of the north island experiencing some showers.
Tauranga will see a high of 22C. Auckland 19C, Wellington 14C and Whangarei 21C.
In the South Island, the wind is sticking around for Sunday morning but should calm down by the afternoon, alongside some morning showers and cool temperatures - the South Island getting a wet-weather reprieve by Sunday afternoon.
Blenheim will see a high of 18C on Sunday, Hokitika 17C, Dunedin 14C and Invercargill 13C.
MetService is forecasting both Islands will get to see a clearer, calmer, and sunnier end to the weekend with much of the wild weather clearing by Sunday evening.
While some wild not-so-pleasant weather was experienced on Saturday, there was a weather event to be marvelled at.
Low-pressure systems are known to cause a heap of cloud, and today was no different with a large cloud at Mt Ruapehu resembling a UFO
MetService caught a timelapse video of the cloud and Róisin Boyle was able to snap a spectacular image of it hovering over the mountain.
Clouds of this type are called Lenticular clouds, they are stationary clouds and often take on a saucer-like shape.
