Severe gales, heavy rain and thunderstorms are set to hit much of New Zealand this week with multiple severe weather warnings in place.
Heavy rain warnings have been issued for Canterbury, Westland, Buller and Nelson and the Tararua Range while strong wind warnings are in place for Wairarapa, Wellington, Marlborough and the Canterbury High Country.
Flooding and debris is already impacting Kapiti Coast - causing a passenger train to derail near Paekākāriki on Tuesday morning.
NIWA Forecaster Nava Fedaeff warns the wild weather will last most of the week.
"Isobars are really tight right across the country so it will be windy everywhere," she told The AM Show on Tuesday. "Canterbury High Country will see some gusts over 100km/h and it'll even be windy in Auckland."
South Islanders should also be on the lookout for thunderstorms on Tuesday. MetService says there were 1408 lightning strikes in the space of two hours on Monday, with "plenty more to come over the next couple days".
"There is a moderate risk of a few thunderstorms this morning embedded within a strong northwest flow ahead of the front from Taranaki to Wellington, and also about the Marlborough Sounds and near Golden Bay," MetService explains in its thunderstorm outlook.
In terms of rain, it's going to be particularly wet in Westland - with between 70 and 100mm of rain expected between 9pm Monday and 11pm Tuesday.
"Heavy rain may be accompanied by thunderstorms," MetService says. "Heavy rain may cause streams and rivers to rise rapidly. Surface flooding and slips are also possible and driving conditions may be hazardous." The North Island will also bear the brunt of Tuesday's cold front, with heavy rain expected in the west.
"Overnight showers may become heavy with a risk of thunderstorms and hail, more so near the coast," WeatherWatch says.
Snow is also expected to fall to high levels - welcome news for skiers wanting to head up the mountains this weekend. Road snowfall warnings are in place for the South Island's Lewis, Arthur's, Haast and Lindis passes and Crown Range and Milford Rds.
"What we've seen with our snow data is it's actually the high elevations only," Fedaeff said.
"The lower elevations; it's been falling as rain or rain on top of snow and that's been helping with the melt - but for those ski fields that are at a high elevation - they might hold onto it for a bit longer."
