Some Air New Zealand passengers have been stranded in Wellington after wild weather cancelled dozens of flights on Friday night.
Thunderstorms lashed the region, with strong winds closing parts of State Highway 2.
An airline spokesperson said the weather cancelled 28 flights in the capital.
"Impacted customers have been rebooked on the next available service, with the majority travelling today."
An RNZ staffer on a flight from Queenstown that landed around 5.30pm said passengers were visibly relieved to touch down safely.
"The cabin was very quiet as the plane came in to land, and then many people clapped and cheered."
They said the wind was already so strong at that point that they could barely walk with their bags to their car.
MetService had earlier forecast strong winds up to 120km/h for the Wellington area.
No watches or warnings were in place for the capital on Saturday.
A heavy rain watch was in for the eastern Bay of Plenty ranges between 9am and 3pm.
Overnight there was expected to be strong winds across the Canterbury High Country.
Snow warnings were in place at Arthur's Pass and Lewis Pass. Further south, road snow warnings were also in place for Milford Road (SH94) and Crown Range Road.
From Saturday evening, strong winds were expected in southern Fiordland, Stewart Island and coastal parts of Southland, Clutha and Dunedin.
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