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Firefighters spent the night before fighting two small vegetation fires with high winds, and much of the South Island and parts of the lower North Island are being warned to prepare for today’s severe weather.
Photo: Supplied / MetService
MetService has issued a number of weather warnings and alerts, and northwest wind gusts of up to 130km / h are expected in exposed locations, particularly around the Canterbury High Country.
The northwest flow will bring high temperatures, with Dunedin, Timaru and Christchurch expected to reach the mid to late 1920s.
People in rural Otago and Canterbury are asked to avoid lighting fires today, to prevent the flames from spreading with the wind.
At 10.40pm last night, Otago fire crews were called to Taieri Mouth Road, south of Brighton, following reports of a fire in grass and gorse.
Lyn Crosson, shift manager for Southern Fire & Emergencies, said they later found a second fire nearby and put it out at 1 a.m., despite high winds causing problems.
Crosson said crews were on high alert and fire permits are suspended in Otago during the Easter holidays due to high winds.
“The danger involved is going to be high, so we ask that members of the public be very vigilant and warn of any sign of fire or smoke, sooner rather than later.”
Meteorologist Leigh Matheson says conditions like this are more common in spring and the wind could create dangerous conditions.
“Certainly the higher roads where these winds tend to channel through the steps and saddles, it’s definitely … people driving high-sided vehicles, caravans, and motorcycles, it’s dangerous, so they need to be careful. “.
Beginning Sunday afternoon, a cold front from the south will begin sweeping across the South Island, reaching the center of the South Island overnight on Sunday.
