People flying to and from Wellington are being asked to put off any non-urgent travel, with a strong wind warning in place.
Air New Zealand has cancelled several flights in and out of the capital, and is offering customers flexible fares to adjust their travel plans.
Those who need to travel are being urged to keep an eye on the airline's website.
The cancellations would continue until mid-afternoon on Tuesday, the airline said.
MetService has issued a strong wind warning in the area, with severe northwest gales reaching 140km/h expected in some places.
Gusts of 83kmh had been recorded at Wellington Airport on Tuesday morning, Met Servce said, with the wind expected to get even stronger later in the day.
The strong wind warning was in place until 10am on Tuesday.
In order to accommodate passengers who had to delay their travel, there would be additional services in place on Tuesday evening, Air New Zealand said.
Passengers would also be offered fare flexibility for 72 hours, giving them the option to transfer their booking to another date or hold the fare's value in credit for up to a year.
"Customers who cannot make changes to their online booking can contact Air New Zealand via private message on Facebook or Twitter, or by contacting the airline’s contact centre," the airline said.
The wild weather is a result of a large low pressure area forming in the Southern Ocean.
Although the storm is not expected to directly cross New Zealand, it will "swipe us" and bring pockets of severe weather over the next week, according to WeatherWatch.