Youngster makes most of Invercargill snow practising his rugby tackling on a snowman

Heavy rain, severe gales to impact South Island, lower North

MetService has issued multiple orange warnings for heavy rain and strong winds, with weather watches also in place across several regions.

Wet weather and strong winds to return later this week

The intense weather may be gone for now – but MetService is forecasting wet weather and strengthening winds for parts of the country from Wednesday.

Thousands face overnight power cuts after strong winds batter upper North

Thousands are expected to remain without power in the Coromandel and western Bay of Plenty.

Weekend weather: Wind, snow and possibly a thunderstorm

MetService has strong wind warnings in place for Hawke's Bay, Tararua District, Dunedin, Clutha and Southland, with gusts expected to reach up to 120km/h in exposed places.