Nelson and Richmond residents have woken to the windiest night recorded this year in the area.
Meteorologist, John Law, says gusts at Nelson Airport reached 80 km/h which was "very strong" for Nelson compared to other parts of the country.
"The strongest winds were up to about 3am this morning, but pretty much from the afternoon it was strong winds," he says.
"That was coming in from that south westerly direction, so south westerly coming straight down through the valleys.
"The winds themselves are very strong for Nelson compared to other parts of the country... the 43 kts we had this morning is the windiest it's been all year [in Nelson]."
John says high pressure will build across today and the winds should change direction and ease off.
Nelson and Richmond residents described the wind on local community Facebook pages as "scary", and it had damage to their gardens and outdoor items, and their pets to hide.
