Cold snap brings early dumping of snow, drivers warned to take extra care

'Cloud shield' threatens eclipse views, but one city could get lucky

The partial solar eclipse will begin before sunrise and reach its peak around 7am, with the moon covering up to 70% of the sun in parts of the lower South Island.

Strong winds hit Canterbury overnight, power outages reported

Power is out to pockets of the central and lower South Island.

Canterbury residents urged to prepare ahead of 'dangerous' winds

Civil Defense warned of destructive 150km/h gusts as severe weather threatens to batter much of the South Island and lower North.

Lightning strike causes 'significant damage' to radar tower near Hokitika

A team of technicians were sent to assess the site, and found the remote had been "significantly damaged" in a lightning strike.