2.30pm, 23 October 2025

Gusts of over 140 km/h have been recorded in parts of Marlborough.

Marlborough Emergency Management Controller Richard McNamara said the strongest gust was recorded in the mid-Awatere Valley today.

“FENZ weather stations have also recorded maximum wind gusts of 108 km/hr gust at Ward, 125 km/hr at Kenepuru Heads and 113 km/hr on the Wither Hills.”

The Strong Wind Warning – Red for Marlborough from Cape Campbell southwards (including the Kaikoura coast) and a Strong Wind Warning – Orange is in force for the rest of Marlborough until 5pm today.

“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first Red Wind Warning we have had in Marlborough.”

The Metservice forecasting models have been on the mark and this has allowed us to prepare the public for the disruption today. The wild weather is expected to persist for another few hours but after that hopefully we can all return to business as usual this evening.”

Marlborough Harbourmaster Captain Jake Oliver also reported a 60 knot (111km/hr) gusts have been recorded in Picton Harbour.

Ferries and any other vessel over 500 GRT have been suspended by the Harbourmaster due to strong winds in Picton Harbour.

“With the worst of the strong winds still forecast to come, people should avoid heading out on the water and delay travel until it is safe to do so. If you are on the water, take extra care and wear a lifejacket. Expect the wind to shift and change around headlands and bays,” Captain Oliver said.

Power has now been restored by Marlborough Lines to around 80 per cent of the region after a fault around 7.45am morning on the Transpower grid.

Some local power outages remain in the Awatere Valley (102 properties, likely to be off overnight), Seddon (187 properties) and the Marlborough Sounds.

Marlborough Lines says, due to ongoing severe weather, there are still a large number of outages across our network. Please treat all power lines as live at all times — especially if lines have come down. Stay well clear and report any hazards immediately to their 24 hour fault line on 03 577 7007.

Wastewater pump stations across Marlborough are back up and running. People can return to flushing their toilets once power has been restored.

State Highway 1 is currently closed north of Kaikōura. Punga Cove Resort in Endeavour Inlet has suffered wind damage and is closed.

The following services remain closed:

• Wither Hills Farm Park in Blenheim and the Snout Track in Picton remain closed to the public.
• Blenheim and Picton transfer stations are closed until tomorrow. Bluegums landfill is working at restricted levels of service. Please refrain from using the landfill unless absolutely necessary.
• Marlborough District Libraries in Blenheim and Picton are closed.
• InterCity has cancelled bus services between Marlborough and Christchurch today.

Visitors to Marlborough are advised to come to the Blenheim or Picton i-SITE for assistance.

For preparedness advice, please go to: https://getready.govt.nz

For weather updates go to: www.metservice.com

Further updates will be provided via Council’s website, Antenno and Facebook page.

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