A front of wild weather has hit the country causing slips, downing trees and closing some roads.

Warnings for severe gales and heavy rain are in place for much of the country with places exposed to the north and east the most vulnerable.

Waka Kotahi has asked motorists to be prepared for possible closures of the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

In the Bay of Plenty, a car crashed into a tree after it had fallen on State Highway 29, near Gargan Road.

The Pacific Coast Highway between Wharekaho and Kūaotunu in Coromandel, part of State Highway 25, is closed because of a large slip, and the whole peninsula is subject to a heavy rain warning.

Follow the latest weather updates here:

The orange heavy rain warning covered Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Taupō and Taihape, North Taranaki including Mt Taranaki, Tasman, Tararua Range, Marlborough and Kaikōura Coast, much of Canterbury, and North Otago. Canterbury High Country south of the Waimakariri River was forecast to get snow down to 400 metres.

Wind gusts strong enough to damage trees, powerlines and unsecured structures were forecast for Auckland, Great Barrier Island, Tasman west of Motueka, Buller and Westland about and north of Fox Glacier were warned of severe gales.