Weather live updates: Gale-force winds hit Taranaki and Wellington, flights cancelled

Severe gales are sweeping across New Zealand's Taranaki and Wellington regions, bringing down trees, lifting roofs, and causing widespread disruption overnight. Both areas are currently under orange strong wind warnings, with exposed locations experiencing gusts of up to 130 km/h.

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The majority have been loose roofing, trees down and trampolines that weren’t secured escaping and trying to bounce off down the road.

This severe weather has led to significant travel disruptions, with several flights into Wellington and New Plymouth being delayed or canceled this morning. Wellington's airport recorded southerly gales of 70 km/h and gusts up to 100 km/h. Fire and Emergency services reported responding to 20 wind-related incidents across the central region, primarily involving loose roofing, fallen trees, and unsecured trampolines being blown away.

MetService meteorologist Matthew Ford noted that the windiest spot recorded was Mount Kaukau in Wellington, with a gust of 153 km/h. The Brothers islands in the Cook Strait experienced "hurricane force" sustained winds of 129 km/h with gusts up to 155 km/h. In New Plymouth, gusts reached 114 km/h, while Hawera saw gusts of 103 km/h. Ford warned that the severe weather would only ease "extremely slowly" throughout the day.

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That’s very exposed and not necessarily representative, but that’s probably the windiest spot at the moment.

Nationwide, multiple severe weather warnings are in place as a deep low-pressure system brings rain and strong southerly winds. Auckland commuters could face major delays, as winds up to 95 km/h are forecast for the afternoon, potentially forcing the closure of the Harbour Bridge if speeds exceed 90 km/h. Speed restrictions are also likely to be implemented.

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The southwesterlies that we’re expecting tomorrow [Friday], they pick up tonight and into tomorrow morning and we’re expecting 90km/h gusts with those. We say mostly in exposed places, but an exposed place could be somewhere like the harbour bridge and there are quite a few hills around Auckland, so that could still mean that your average person who doesn’t live in the Waitakeres could experience those.