Source: New Zealand Transport Agency
Drivers are being urged to take extreme care on the roads tomorrow (Thursday), with red level weather warnings being issued by Metservice.
A red-level Strong Wind Warning is in place for Wellington and Wairarapa, south of Carterton, from 6 am to 4 pm tomorrow. Severe gale northwesterlies with damaging gusts of 140 km/h in exposed places are forecast.
In the South Island, an orange-level Strong Wind Warning applies for Marlborough, and a Strong Wind Watch will be in place for the Grey, Buller, and Nelson/Tasman districts.
Mark Owen, Regional Manager for the Lower North Island and Top of the South, says these are critical weather warnings and must be heeded by the public.
“A red warning means there is an actual risk to life. It is essential that people pay it the respect it requires. Avoid travel if the weather is extreme. Avoid unnecessary travel and do not put yourself at risk, or those who may be required to rescue you should you run into trouble.”
“The bad weather seen earlier this week in the South Island and lower North Island demonstrates that strong winds can pose a real danger to the public and can, and do, close roads,” Mr Owen says.
With the forecast for tomorrow predicting worse weather than seen earlier this week, Mr Owen says disruptions and road closures can be expected.
“The forecast wind gust speeds for Wellington and Wairarapa are at a level where State Highway 2 Remutaka Hill could be closed for safety reasons.”
“And, as we saw in Wairarapa and the Kaikoura Coast on Tuesday, winds of this strength do bring down trees and power lines and close roads and highways,” Mr. Owen says.
Severe weather is also forecast for other areas – northern Wairarapa, Hawke’s Bay, Canterbury, and the West Coast.
Mr Owen says anyone planning to travel to these areas this week need to keep up to date on road and weather conditions.
“What is coming tomorrow may have a longer impact on roads and highway. Please, make sure you check road and weather conditions before you travel, and make informed and sensible decisions.”
Contractors will be on call to deal with incidents as they arise. However, safety is a priority and incident responses may be delayed if weather conditions are too dangerous.
