Wind gusts of up to 211km/h were recorded in the Canterbury high country overnight, as changeable spring weather brought "four seasons in one day".
Strong wind watches remain in place for Hawke's Bay, Canterbury, and Southland as northwesterly winds batter exposed spots of the south and east.
New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi said it would proactively close SH94 from Te Anau to Milford at 4.30pm today due to forecast snow on Milford Rd.
Drivers to 'take extra care'
NZTA said people travelling between Canterbury and the West Coast today were urged to "take extra care" due to strong winds and road disruptions.
"On State Highway 7, the road is down to a single lane with stop/go traffic management because of fallen trees near Heslop Creek Bridge, between Rahu Saddle and Springs Junction. Short delays can be expected," a spokesperson said.
On State Highway 73, an area warning was in place from Arthur's Pass Village to Kumara Junction due to slips and flooding. Caution was advised along this route.
Severe gale, heavy rain warnings as front packs a punch - watch on TVNZ+
Earlier, MetService meteorologist Heather Keats told Breakfast "it just might be a stay indoors kind of a weekend for many".
"We've got a front that's moving on, so that's responsible for all the watches and warnings that we've seen. It's brought a lot of rain and some pretty strong winds."
She said 211km/h gusts were recorded in Canterbury high country, and Mount Kaukau recorded 135km/h gusts.
"So not surprising if we do see up to 130km/h gusts for places like Wellington this morning."
She said there had been more than 3000 lightning strikes recorded across the country in the past 12 hours - with more to come.
Watches and warnings were in place across the lower North Island and many areas of the South Island, which Keats said could get "lots of thunderstorms, squally with hail".
"We might even see some small tornadoes too for the likes of the West Coast of the South Island.
"But that thunderstorm risk — which is where we see those real heavy downpours and those strong winds and hail — that risk extends all the way along the lower south, up through Dunedin, and then all the way up to Taranaki on the western side as well."
Keats said the upper half of the North Island, including Auckland, was actually looking "not too bad" for the weekend.
"But we do have another low pressure system that's going to start to move over, sort of forming out of the Tasman. It will hit the South Island or the top of the South Island. That's going to bring another front that extends over the North Island as well, so it's likely we will see a couple more watches and warnings issued for Saturday and Sunday."
"I wouldn't be surprised if we saw some more watches and warnings, especially for wind. It is spring; it's really changeable, and we've got sort of four seasons in one day, and then it repeats for the next few days."
Full list of weather watches and warnings
Strong Wind Watch
Hawke's Bay west and south of Wairoa, and the Tararua District - expires at 4pm
Canterbury High Country - 10 hours from 11am to 9pm Saturday
Coastal Southland and Clutha from Pahia Point to Nugget Point, and Stewart Island - 12 hours from 7am to 7pm Saturday
Road Snowfall Warnings
Crown Range Rd - expires at 6pm
Milford Rd - 21 hours from 11am Friday to 8am Saturday
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