Calmer weather to start the week for most areas following Cyclone Dovi

Most of the country will experience a calmer start to the week following a weekend of dramatic weather brought on by Cyclone Dovi.

The cyclone brought heavy rain and severe gales to the North Island on Sunday – toppling trees, causing widespread flooding, large swells and slips; and leading to power outages and disrupted transport.

Metservice meteorologist Peter Little​ said Cyclone Dovi would move away to the east of New Zealand on Monday, and rain and winds would continue to ease.

“The winds are still cooler southerlies over the country, which for those over northern parts will probably be a relief because they’ve had a week of very humid weather, so that is a silver lining.”

READ MORE:
* In pictures: Flooding, slips and road closures as ex-Tropical Cyclone Dovi hits the country
* Slips and evacuations as parts of Wellington mark second-wettest day on record
* Wild weather set to worsen across North Island, as rain due to ease in the South

A few showers will still affect eastern areas – and perhaps South Taranaki and Northland – but places in the West will “fine up” nicely, Little said.

Main centres in the North Island such as Whangarei, Auckland, Tauranga, and Hamilton have highs forecast of 23 to 24 degrees Celsius on Monday; Gisborne, Napier and Palmerston North look set for 19C and Wellington is forecast for 16C.

Following heavy rain in North Canterbury, parts of Marlborough and the Tasman/Buller area, rain cleared on Sunday afternoon and will continue to ease on Monday.

Intermittent showers in Otago and Southland will dry out in the morning, and in Canterbury and Marlborough showers will clear later in the day.

“Certainly by midday, much of the South Island will be dry,” Little said.

“It’s still a deep low as the cyclone moves out to the east of the country, but as it moves away and is replaced by a ridge of high pressure the associated strong winds and rain are taken away to the east as well, so we are left with improving weather on the western side.”

Little said the cyclone had been a “significant” event, affecting several parts of the country with its strong winds and rain.

And parts of the country are facing a daunting clean-up following a week of turbulent weather.

On the West Coast of the South Island, hundreds are cut-off, others without drinking water as slips closed roads and at least 22 homes were damaged in severe rain earlier in the past week.

The Government has pledged $200,000 to the local Rural Support Trusts and Mayoral Relief Funds to help farmers and growers recover, Rural Communities Minister Damian O’Connor announced on Sunday.

Major transport routes were also affected – as slips caused a large section of State Highway 1 from Kaikōura to Waipara to close. That was reopened about 2pm.

In the super-city, the Auckland Harbour Bridge was closed from Sunday morning until the afternoon due to high winds, forcing motorists to reach the North Shore by travelling around SH16. The bridge opened again at 2pm once gusts fell below 90kmh.

Thousands of homes in Auckland lost power, forcing businesses, transport and health sites to close.

In Hamilton, strong winds brought trees down over roads and fences, and pushed rubbish bins around streets.

Wellington recorded its wettest-ever February day – and second-wettest day on record – as torrential rain brought slips, flooded areas, and forced trees down.

Slips blocked highways and all Cook Strait ferry sailing were cancelled on the back of forecasts indicating that winds could exceed 100 kmh and swells of 5 metres.