Severe weather is sweeping across Great Barrier Island, disrupting summer holiday plans and forcing flight and ferry delays as strong winds and heavy rain batter the upper North Island.
An active low-pressure system moved south onto the North Island overnight, bringing gale-force southeast winds up to 100km/h and bursts of heavy rain to exposed coastal areas, including Aotea. MetService has issued a Strong Wind Watch for the island, warning that southeast winds may approach severe gale strength in exposed places through Monday afternoon.
The impact was already being felt early Monday, with Barrier Air delaying flights to the island by around an hour and cancelling some services to the Far North. Other airlines across the country, including Air New Zealand, have also cancelled or delayed flights due to the deteriorating conditions.
SeaLink shifted its scheduled 7:30am ferry sailing from Auckland to 6pm this evening, citing weather conditions. While the rescheduled sailing is not currently appearing on SeaLink’s website, a SeaLink representative confirmed to AoteaGBI.news that the evening service is scheduled to go ahead. Forecast models suggest the strongest wind gusts should ease from around 5pm. The replacement sailing is scheduled to depart Tryphena for its return to Auckland at 11:30pm.
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The strength of the weather system was underscored by a RIB driven onto the rocks in Puriri Bay. The vessel was photographed hard aground along the shoreline. Concerns have also been raised in Shoal Bay, where two boats were reported to be hitting each other in the gusty conditions. Boaties are being reminded to check their vessels are secure.
MetService says the low is expected to bring periods of heavy rain and gusty southeast winds to northern and central New Zealand through Monday and into Tuesday, advising people to keep up to date with the latest forecasts and warnings.
Travellers heading to or from Great Barrier Island are being urged to check directly with airlines and ferry operators before departing, as further delays or cancellations remain possible.
