Wild weather blasts central New Zealand

Emergency services faced a deluge of callouts after a storm lashed Wellington and Marlborough, tearing off roofs and stranding residents and commuters.

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The storm lashed the top of the South Island this afternoon before ripping through Wellington.

A teenage boy became trapped after a tree fell on him at Rarangi, near Blenheim, and was flown by rescue helicopter to Wairau Hospital with leg injuries.

A mini tornado lashed the capital's western and northern suburbs, ripping off roofs and tearing out trees.

TRANSPORT

A mooring rope on the Interislander's Kaitaki ferry was let go as the ship was attempting to berth in Wellington, delaying the ferry's berthing by about an hour, a passenger said.

One rope was fastened when the weather hit the ferry "really hard" passenger Jo Wehrly said.

"We could see it coming over the harbour, it was the freakiest thing I've ever seen," Ms Wehrly said.

She said an announcer told passengers the rope had snapped and the berthing was aborted, before a tug was able to bring the ferry in.

Passengers were told over the ferry's PA that the berthing "was like trying to park a bus in a telephone box", Ms Wehrly said.

Nigel Parry, of KiwiRail, which operates the ferry could not confirm whether a rope had broken, but said a tug assisted berthing is standard in ''very blowy conditions.''

''The Kaitaki, being a very large ship, there's a lot of boat for the wind to hit,'' he said.

Mr Parry said ferries were operating as usual.

Train services were disrupted, with services cancelled on the Hutt Valley line because of trees on the tracks. Tranz Metro said the supply of replacement buses was "very limited".

Services had resumed by 7.30pm, though delays were still expected.

Buses were being put on, but capacity was limited and delays were expected.

"We are now able to run services on the Melling line down the Hutt Valley, but not yet through the main line to Upper Hutt and Masterton. We have arranged for some buses to meet passengers at Petone and take them to stations on the Hutt valley, but these are limited due to peak bus demand and lousy weather."

WATER RESCUES

Seaview Marina administrator Suzanne Willis said seven boats which had been sitting on trailers had been blown over by the strong winds.

"We saw them fall over. Oh it was phenomenal. I've never seen a front like it come through," she said.

The owners had been notified, she said.

"Luckily the boats in the marina berth sat very well and really it looks like it'll just be covers ripped and things like that."

Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club CEO Dean Stanley said they had 13 boats on the water, crewed mainly by members of the business community participating in a fundraising event.

One sailor was taken to hospital after showing signs of hypothermia. However, it was more of a precaution as he was conscious and coherent when he was transferred, he said.

Three boats had been towed in while three others were forced to find shelter and weather the storm.

Te Horo based photographer Neil Gordon was in a corporate sailing event when the storm struck. Through his Twitter feed, he sent dramatic photographs of the storm approaching Wellington Harbour and anxious messages about the boat getting knocked down and requiring a tow.

He was later able to confirm by cell phone that the boat had been rescued and towed to a sheltered bay. All the people on board were safe and well.

The police launch was called out to rescue a kayaker about 4.30pm near Oriental Bay, but after several hours' searching it appeared to have been a yellow racing buoy, Mr Harris said. There had been no reports of an overdue kayaker.

A dinghy carrying three people had also capsized due to the weather in Mana Harbour.

TORNADO

Jo de Joux - from the northern Wellington suburb of Ngaio - said she had been talking on the phone to her husband about the darkening clouds, when the tornado passed over her property.

"The wind got up really really quickly, leaves were circulating in the air. The house starting shaking and the next thing the paddling pool flew past the window."

Mrs de Joux said the intense past of the storm lasted about 20 minutes.

The tornado also ripped roofing off Samuel Marsden Collegiate School, in the city's western suburb of Karori.

The school's business director, Nev Gajadhar, said that, as it went dark and rain started pelting down, he noticed leaves "circling and flying" in the air.

"We had a bit of a tornado. Just when I went out to say to the others 'Look at those strange leaves', the next minute we lost the roof."

He said a few children and staff were present at the school at the time the tornado hit. "We've lost quite a bit of one of the roofs."

Elsewhere in Wellington, a shed was destroyed by high winds in the southern suburb of Owhiro Bay and debris pelted parked cars.

Karina Nisbet, from nearby Lyall Bay, said the damage to the area happened in a five minute period.

"I saw a guy pushing his bike and it got picked up and thrown over the wall along Lyall Parade. I have three new recycling bins that landed at my house and our small BBQ chairs went over our two metre fence."

LOWER HUTT

In Lower Hutt, a police spokesman said trees were down across the city, including one that had fallen on a car.

Roofing iron at St Bernard's School in Lower Hutt blew off and was being tossed around the area.

"We've got trees and road signs coming down all over the Wellington area," a police spokesman said.

There had been no reports of any injuries.

MARLBOROUGH

Blenheim and Rarangi volunteer firefighters used a chainsaw to free a boy when he became trapped under a tree after the storm blasted through Marlborough just after 4pm.

As well as volunteer firefighters, Blenheim police and St John Ambulance rushed to the scene before the boy was transferred to the Nelson-based Summit Rescue Helicopter.

Chopper pilot Jarrod Colbourne said the boy had injuries to his lower leg. He did not think the injuries were serious, but did not have exact details.

"He was talking, but obviously in a lot of pain."

The boy may also have injuries to his back, Mr Colbourne said.

He and the rescue helicopter crew were expecting the worst when they got the call so it was good to have a reasonably positive outcome, he said.

Ward resident Dennis Burkhart said gusts had reached up to 100km an hour on his property, along with hail falling.

Marlborough Lines operations manager said power surges had been reported in Ward, Lake Grassmere, Dashwood and Cloudy Bay Industrial Estate.

Ward resident Toska Bayley said a massive gust of wind picked  up her children's trampoline and took it over a fence and up into the power line.

"I was told there was a bit of an explosion.

"It cut the power and then took off, landing up on the principal's car."

The Bayley family live opposite the Ward School.

"It's now in a thousand pieces, part of it wedged in the school's  schools sign. The kids got it for Christmas, but they say the don't want another one."

METSERVICE

Duty forecaster Heath Gullery said the southerly front had moved up from the Canterbury and Marlborough regions this afternoon.

It had bought heavy rain which lasted for around three hours, with thunderstorms and hail in some places.

Forecaster Chris Noble said that, when the storm hit Wellington, temperatures plummeted from 18.5 degrees Celsius to 8.5 degrees in Kelburn within ten minutes, with a similar drop recorded at Wellington Airport.

"It came through with a bit of a bang.''

At 4.30pm, wind gusts of up to 130kmh were reported in Kelburn, and 120kmh at Wellington Airport.

-with NZPA

- © Fairfax NZ News