Weather: Helicopter heads to West Coast stranded travellers

Westland Civil Defence is hoping to get a helicopter in the air about now to check on 115 motorists stranded on road near Franz Josef. They've spent the night in their vehicles after downed power lines and trees blocked the State Highway. They include young tourists on a Kiwi Experience bus. In Wellington there were major flight disruptions because of yesterday's strong winds. Flights in and out of the capital were cancelled and delayed, with many passengers saying they didn't know what was going on. At about 5pm on Thursday Levin woman Barbara Petherick was still waiting for her daughter, who left Melbourne for Wellington more than seventeen hours earlier. She says they were left in the dark and had no idea when she'd finally arrive. In Auckland, Tamaki Drive continued to take a battering overnight. MetService's duty forecaster Raveen Das joins Susie Ferguson with the latest forecast for Friday and the weekend.