Warnings are in effect for southern Wairarapa, Wellington, Kaikoura, northern Canterbury and Banks Peninsula.
All flights at Wellington Airport are off until further notice, with high winds making it too dangerous for baggage handlers to operate.
Most Cook Strait ferries are cancelled -- and sections of Lower Hutt's Marine Drive, Porirua's Seaview Road and Christchurch's Dyers Pass Road closed.
Sections of State Highway 25 east of Coromandel town, State Highway 6 west of Murchison, and State Highways 2 and 35 in Bay of Plenty are also closed.
Central Timaru District is still under a state of emergency because of flood risk from the Opihi River.
