Gales blast the north early, later in the southSUPPLIED Wild weather left a tree down in Hamilton overnight. Powerful winds have been blasting parts of the North Island overnight, while another set of gales is due to batter the deep south later. In its wake is a very tight westerly gradient across the top half of the North Island. "In the case this morning we have a cold front that's just left the North Island. Strong winds over the northern part of the North Island were expected to ease on Wednesday morning, while southwest gales were expected to hit the bottom of the South Island from late afternoon.

Source: Stuff July 19, 2016 19:18 UTC