Severe gales blew a tree from Eliza's Manor on Bealey onto Bealey Ave in Christchurch. It blocked both two lanes heading west.

Snow is expected to low levels in both islands on Thursday as a southerly storm continues to blast the country.

Snow was expected to fall possibly as low as 100 metres in Mid and North Canterbury during Thursday morning, MetService said. It could be heavy between 300m and 500m.

In the North Island, heavy snow was expected to develop early on Thursday in Taihape and Taupo, with up to 30cm above 500m and lesser amounts down to 300m.

OLIVIA VICKERS A toppled tree blocking the road by near Dunedin's Botanic Garden on Wednesday evening.

The Desert Road - State Highway 1 from Waiouru to Turangi - was closed due to snow and ice, the NZ Transport Agency said on Thursday morning.

Drivers were also warned to take care because of strong winds on SH2 over the Rimutaka Hill north of Wellington.

There were warnings because of wind, snow and ice on sections of highway in the South Island.

KARL ARGYLE Snow on the ground in the Queenstown suburb of Frankton on Wednesday night.

MetService duty forecaster Neal Osborne said strongest winds recorded since midnight Wednesday included gusts of up to 120kmh in Wellington, and up to 130kmh at the top of Mt Kaukau in the city.

Gusts of 130kmh hit Le Bons Bay on Banks Peninsula and up to 110kmh at Castlepoint in Wairarapa.

Around 5am a front was sitting around north Waikato, having moved up the North Island overnight, Osborne said.

REBECCA DEW A trampoline flew over a fence in Shirley, Christchurch. Several tramps were blown about in Wednesday night's gales.

"In a way that's just a more intense burst." Most of the rest of the country was in for a day of unstable weather with squally showers.

"Reasonably strong southerlies with cold wintry showers continues for a lot of the country for the day," he said.

Most improvement would probably be in the north of the North Island. Nelson, Buller and Westland were also protected from the southerlies and had a chance of a nice, sunny day.

WILL HARVIE Fierce winds blew over this barbecue in Mt Pleasant, Christchurch, where some homes were without power.

"As far as the South Island goes. They are just gradually improving now and I guess the North Island will start heading towards that."

MetService has warned of large south to southwest swells on all South Island and North Island coasts exposed to the south or southwest through Thursday for the South Island, and into Friday for the North Island.

Cook Strait ferry company Interislander is not accepting bookings for sailings on Thursday, Friday or Saturday, due to the forecast for rough seas.

Hayden Wilson A moored Catamaran opposite the beach at Macandrew Bay, Dunedin capsized in the wind.

TWO INJURED BY TREE IN CANTERBURY

Two people were injured after severe gales blasting the country's east coast toppled a tree onto their car.

A St John's Ambulance spokesman said both had moderate injuries after the incident near Tai Tapu, south of Christchurch.

HAMISH McNEILLY/FAIRFAX NZ Wild wind brought down a power pole on Forbury Rd, Dunedin on Wednesday afternoon.

Thousands of Canterbury homes lost power, trampolines went flying and trees toppled across the city and region, blocking several inner-city intersections.

The quick and furious front has moved steadily from the deep south up the country, creating heavy gales and rain.

It hit Christchurch about 6.30pm. City firefighters attended 35 call-outs, most to fallen trees, before 9pm.

DEBBIE JAMIESON/FAIRFAX NZ Fresh snow can be seen on the lower slopes of the Remarkables mountain range with the tops still hidden in clouds.

Gusts nearing 160 kmh were recorded on Banks Peninsula and the Port Hills. Wind chills reached -7C in those areas. It got as low as -10C in the Canterbury high country.

Around 3400 homes across Selwyn and Christchurch were without power. By 11.30pm, about 1000 homes had yet to be reconnected.

Hussey Rd in Northwood was closed until Thursday morning due to a fallen tree.

QUEENSTOWN LAKES DISTRICT COUNCI Snow has fallen on the Crown Range road between Queenstown and Wanaka.

Several trampolines flew into the air, hitting homes in Rangiora and Shirley. Winds blew over a barbecue in Mt Pleasant.

POWER CUT STRIKES WELLINGTON

A power outage left about eight homes without power in Eastbourne in Wellington as the southerly storm blasted towards the city.

QUEENSTOWN LAKES DISTRICT COUNCI Motorists have been advised to fit chains to travel over the Crown Range road.

A Wellington Electricity spokesman confirmed just before 11pm on Wednesday that power had been restored to all customers in Waitohu Rd, following the outage several hours earlier.

There had been eight homes and about 40 customers affected, the spokesman said.

Electricity had been restored to most customers by 10pm, before power in the area was turned off as fault crews tried to determine what was causing the outage for the remaining affected customers.

"High winds were making it difficult for the teams to be able to safely go up and figure out what was going on," the spokesman said.

The outage may have been caused by strong winds in the area, he said.

STORMS BLASTS SOUTH ISLAND

Further south, heavy snow fell in Central Otago. By 9.30pm oin Wednesday snow was settling at Lake Wakatipu level in Queenstown.

People were mopping up damage caused by gale force winds that swept through Dunedin, Oamaru and Ashburton.

Gusts reaching 120 kmh cut power to 380 Dunedin homes, most on the Otago Peninsula, from Harwood to Taiaroa Head.

Power was restored to most by 7pm, Aurora Energy said.

Dunedin firefighters responded to several weather-related incidents including roofs lifting and trees falling.

The wind caused a catamaran to topple over at Macandrew Bay, in Dunedin. It was in its moorings, and locals tried to put it back upright, said Bruce Duncan of the Macandrew Bay boating club.

The speed of the front meant wind and rain hit suddenly, MetService meteorologist Lisa Murray said.

"This morning (Wednesday) it was barely onto the country."

The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) warned drivers using coastal roads on Wednesday to be careful, particularly around high tide around 9.20pm.

Temperatures dropped by several degrees in places as the southerly moved north.

At Christchurch's Sugarloaf, it dropped from 11C to 7C on Wednesday as the southerly advanced towards the city.

Southern ski fields were welcoming fresh snow.

Remarkables ski area manager Ross Lawrence said fresh snow had fallen since 5am on Wednesday.

"This is what winter is all about...It's nice to remember it's still winter about."