Gale force winds rocketed through Auckland Thursday night and across other main centres as a deepening low south of New Zealand moves by.

As of 10:30pm winds were gale force along the Manukau Heads near Auckland with gusts over 120km/h.  Across the city itself gusts are reaching 100km/h and are still building although are probably now peaking.   Squally rain is now moving in to the city.

Gales are now also affecting Northland, East Cape, inland Hawkes Bay, New Plymouth, Wairarapa, and Paraparaumu (with gusts up to 110km/h there).

The main belt of gales has now cleared Wellington and remains over much of the North Island heading north.

Earlier Story

Heavy rain is continuing to fall across the South Island with houses flooded in Greymouth this morning.

The normally dry Marlborough region has also had heavy rain for much of the day – our Blenheim Weather Watch reporter Anna Richards says it’s been pouring in Blenheim since early this morning.

There are 26 severe weather warnings currently active across New Zealand.

Four houses were flooded over night in Karoro – a suburb of south Greymouth after the local Saywers Creek burst its banks early this morning .

There was a critical two to three hours for some Greymouth residents at high tide after a deluge of rain between four thirty and eight thirty this morning flooded the four houses and threatened a number of others the Karoro area.

High tide at eleven thirty seven was quite high at three point five metres .

Emergency services sandbagged in the area to try and minimise the damage

CEO of Grey District Council Paul Pretorious chaired a civil defence meeting at eleven this morning .

Evacuation of houses in the area was considered.

This morning Mr Pretorious says the danger subsided with the tide and it had stopped raining.

He says they seem to be out of the woods – the houses flooded suffered varying degrees of damage and fire service started pumping water out as soon as it came in.

Mr Pretorious says all the owners of the flooded houses are insured.

It is reported that fifty millimetres of rain fell between five and ten this morning.

Over 9000 lightning strikes have been detected out in the Tasman Sea this morning however so far none have made it to land.   WeatherWatch.co.nz says the risk for thunderstorms and squalls will increase tonight along the entire western coastline of New Zealand.

Rain clouds are now moving into Waikato southwards but the rain has been delayed for Auckland and Northland – it’s expected tonight.

Gales are sweeping through Cook Strait but are yet to reach any populated centres.  As of 2:30pm the strongest wind gust in the country was 120km/h on the top of Mt Kaukau in Wellington and at Castlepoint.

Winds are near gale force in Wellington.

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