The northwest wind, which gusted up to 160kmh in places, abated by noon, but not before at least seven people were injured, 12,000 consumers lost power and two state highways and several main access roads were closed between Mosgiel and Waikouaiti.
In the worst incident, a 63-year-old man was seriously injured when his car was badly damaged by a tree on State Highway 1, near the Karitane turnoff.
Two others were treated by St John staff for minor injuries after being toppled by the wind.
Large trees in already saturated ground after last weekend's heavy downpour were uprooted, blocking Portobello Rd and State Highways 1 and 88.
Trucks backed up in a line on Dunedin's Northern Motorway while fallen trees were cleared.
The road was closed at 8.30am, with one lane reopened at 1.30pm. Both lanes were operating at 3pm.
Fallen trees and/or power lines also temporarily closed other roads around the city and Waikouaiti, including Leith Valley Rd and Mt Cargill Rd.
More than 12,000 consumers were without power at the peak of the storm yesterday morning, but by late afternoon most high-voltage lines had been restored.
Staff would be working throughout the night to fully restore services.
Emergency services answered dozens of calls for help during the morning. and police were kept busy manning roadblocks and redirecting traffic until New Zealand Transport Authority or the Dunedin City Council staff took over.
The calls were "the usual range of stuff", from parts blowing off buildings, although "nothing serious", to trees and power lines down and roofing iron or tiles lifting.
About 300 people on six inbound and outbound flights were affected by delays at Dunedin International Airport.
Air New Zealand Dunedin airport manager Alistair Bevin said one inbound flight was cancelled and two flights diverted, one to Invercargill and one to Queenstown. Passengers were bused to Dunedin.
It was hoped most of the 150 affected by the resulting cancellation of three outbound flights would be accommodated on later services.
Sigurd Wilbanks, of Broad Bay, contacted ODT Online to say a public 'thank you' to a Good Samaratan who helped him out at the Anderson Bay causeway during the gales.
"When I was foolish enough to start across the causeway (instead of detouring around the far side of the inlet), this unknown motorist was kind enough to slow to a crawl, giving me shelter from the wind and spray as we crossed together.," Mr Wilbanks said.
"I was a bit caught up with the weather at the time, so did not say it then, but I want to say it now - 'Thanks for looking out for me'."
MetService chief forecaster Peter Kreft said the highest wind speeds in Dunedin occurred between 10am and 11am, with gusts of 115kmh recorded in the city and at the airport.
Higher wind speeds could have been felt in parts of the city where there were no recording devices, he said.
The highest winds recorded were an average wind speed of 115km at Swampy Summit, near Dunedin, with gusts up to 160kmh between 8am and 9am.
The winds, which had dropped by noon, were the result of a "little low" rolling past the south of New Zealand bringing strong winds to mostly the eastern coast.
It also brought high temperatures and clear skies, with Dunedin experiencing 18degC and higher for most of the day.
However, the sunshine was expected to be short-lived with a return today to the northeasterly conditions the city had been experiencing.
