Weather update 6pm Tuesday 30 December

Marlborough Lines’ teams have been busy working on various faults across the region caused by the weather and have made progress in restoring parts of Rai Valley and various other locations. Thank you to the crews who have been out and about working in these difficult conditions to restore power.

Customers from Okiwi Bay to French Pass and at Duncan Bay and Penzance remain without supply. Marlborough Lines are working on locating the cause of the fault, but advise that power may remain off overnight for these customers.

There are also a number of smaller outages across the network in the Canvastown, Rai and Pelorus areas. Customers currently without power in these areas will remain off overnight and repair work will start again in the morning.

Marlborough Lines is keen to hear from anyone who can assist them in locating the cause of faults or if you have observed any hazards on the network. Please contact them on 03 577 7007.

The MetService Strong Wind Warning – Orange has now been downgraded to a Yellow Wind Watch with some strong gusts still being felt. There is also a Storm Warning in Cook Strait with a southerly of 40 knots expected to rise to 50 knots for a time this evening.

A Heavy Rain Watch – Yellow for the Richmond and Bryant Ranges and Rai Valley is in place for 24 hours from 6am tomorrow (Wednesday) and the Heavy Rain Watch - Yellow remains for the Kaikōura Coast until 9pm this evening.

As at 5pm the road between Hira and Rai Valley is now open to all traffic.

NZTA say road conditions remain unpredictable and there is likely to be further small debris and tree falls overnight so caution is advised while travelling through the area. People should drive to the conditions and report any state highway faults or damage to 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49).

There will be no further updates this evening unless the situation changes.