Weather: Winds appear to be easing, all lanes open on Auckland Harbour Bridge

Thursday, 5 November 2020

A tree blocks Anzac Rd in Browns Bay, on Auckland's North Shore.

High winds and heavy rain which battered Auckland on Thursday afternoon appear to be easing.

The wild weather lashing the north of the North Island felled trees and brought down power lines.

MetService has issued a number of Heavy Rain Warnings for northern New Zealand but also western areas of the South Island.

Thunderstorms and winds up to 100kmh were possible, with the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi warning it “will not hesitate” to close the Auckland Harbour Bridge if needed.

However, by 6pm speed limits on the bridge had been lifted. Five lanes were open to northbound traffic and three lanes open heading south

* Motorcyclists and high-sided vehicles urged to avoid Auckland Harbour Bridge

Despite this, people should continue to drive with care, NZTA said.

Earlier on Thursday, severe weather caused a large tree to crash on to a house in Cockle Bay, in east Auckland.

A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokeswoman said the tree fell on to the roof and deck of a property in Alexander St.

Charlie's Rock Waterfall in Kerikeri was overflowing on Thursday after a deluge battered the upper North Island.

No injuries had been reported.

Northland is still mopping up from a flood event in July. This photo was taken at the time by a member of the Whāngarei Flying Club.

However, the tree was too big for firefighters to remove, so the homeowner would need to call an arborist.

In total, Fenz had received about a dozen weather-related calls on Thursday.

A broken tree branch blocks part of the road at Helena Bay near Whangārei – one of many branches to come down in the storm.

“The weather seems to be slowly starting to shift south,” the spokeswoman said.

Trains on the eastern commuter line had been cancelled between Britomart and Pan Auckland Transport (AT) said. But Manukau services are running as usual.

Services were cancelled on the western line earlier but AT received clearance for them to operate between Britomart and Swanson from about 4.15pm.

Power were lines down over the road near the intersection of Maraetai School Rd and Maraetai Drive, in east Auckland about 3pm.

Rain is now falling in Northland, Auckland, Coromandel and Bay of Plenty with much of the North Island expected to get a drenching. (File photo)

Maraetai School Rd was closed between Maraetai Drive and Maraetai Heights Rd, a police spokesman said, as officers assisted firefighters and contractors who were working to fix the issue.

According to Vector’s website, an outage was reported in the area at 2.47pm. By 6.30pm power had been restored.

The heavy rain warning has been extended to Gisborne, which can expect up to 110 millimetres of rain overnight on Thursday.

Heavy rain is also possible further south in the Canterbury headwaters and is expected to continue in south Westland, and thunderstorms are expected as the system moves south.

NZTA (Waka Kotahi) is advising it “will not hesitate” to close the Auckland Harbour Bridge if Thursday's winds get too bad.

The forecast for the north of the North Island is for northeasterly gales up to 100kmh in exposed places.

Gusts of that strength could damage trees, power lines and unsecured structures, while driving could be hazardous, particularly for high-sided vehicles and motorcycles, MetService said.

Do you have a photo of the weather at your place? Send them to aucklandnewsroom@stuff.co.nz

MetService meteorologist Tahlia Crabtree saidKerikeri airport had 74.8mm of rain on Thursday by 2pm, with 22mm falling in one hour.

“It is a pretty heavy dose of rain in a single hour,” Crabtree said.

The region is still recovering from a flood in July, with State Highway 1 south of Kaitaia still closed by slips.

NZTA is closely monitoring Auckland's winds and advised drivers of high-sided vehicles and motorcyclists to avoid the Auckland Harbour Bridge altogether.

Gusts up to 110kmh were forecast up to 4pm, before it was expected to back to 80 to 90kmh until 8pm.

“Safety is our priority and we will not hesitate to close the bridge if that becomes necessary,” Auckland system manager Andrea Williamson said.

Gale force winds on September 18 blew a truck into a strut on the Auckland Harbour Bridge, causing damage and the rolling closure of lanes over a number of days.

The bridge was closed to all traffic for a period on September 29 due to strong wind gusts.

Rain is forecast in Wellington from evening, while Christchurch is expected to have a warm day with a high of 27 degrees Celsius.

On Friday, the weather is expected to be more settled, with calmer wind and just showers predicted for the country, Crabtree said.