'Sleepless night' for some with heavy downpours, damaging winds predicted

Wild winds reaching gale force strength and heavy downpours are expected to hit parts of the country today.

An active front was forecast to move over the South Island this morning and onto the North Island tonight. The front is preceded by a strong northwest flow, spreading rain to most places, and followed by disturbed westerlies.

A severe weather warning has been issued for most of the North Island, with gale-force winds expected to batter Northland, Auckland, the Coromandel Peninsula, Waikato, Taranaki and the Bay of Plenty overnight.

Gusts of 120 km/h possible in many locations, MetService warned, with Wellington and Wairarapa look set for 140km/h winds in the evening.

"Winds of this strength have the potential to be damaging, particularly to trees, power lines and unsecured structures and also make for hazardous driving conditions, especially for tall-sided vehicles and motorcycles," the forecaster said.

MetService tweeted to say it will be a windy, and perhaps sleepless night for some, across much of central and northern New Zealand.

Heavy rain is set to lash the west and north of the South Island, and rainfall accumulations could reach 280mm about the Westland ranges, MetService said.

Warnings are also in place for Fiordland, which may get up to 90mm before 2pm and the Canterbury lakes area, which may be hit by thunderstorms in the evening.

"People in these area are advised that this amount of rain will cause rivers and streams to rise rapidly and may cause slips and surface flooding," MetService said.

"On Sunday, heavy swells and large waves are expected to affect western coasts and may cause coastal erosion in vulnerable areas."

Nelson is forecast to get up to 150mm of rain before Sunday afternoon, while in Marlborough and Fiordland strong wind gusts may reach 140 km/h.

Mt Hutt Ski Area in Canterbury closed on Saturday due to strong winds.

Cardrona Ski Area in Central Otago updated mid-morning saying many of its lifts are closed due to the weather but lower lifts are still running.

"Chains are now needed on 2WDs as it's dumping!" it said.

Coronet Peak in Queenstown decided to close, citing high winds after it had initially opened for skiers.

Heavy rain is already causing surface flooding on the Cardrona Valley Road and there has been minor rockfalls on the Crown Range, Queenstown Lakes District Council says.

Queenstown Airport also says that due to weather conditions, arriving flight NZ5403 from Wellington is cancelled as is the departing flight NZ5404 to Wellington.