File photo of snow in the Lewis Pass area. Photo: Supplied / Dani Rush
The wintery blast which brought trees down and caused power outages across Southland and parts of Otago yesterday is heading north and bringing with it snow and heavy rain.
Snow is expected to impact motorists in parts of the central North Island from this afternoon and MetService is warning the Remutaka Hill Road further south could also be affected.
It has issued a severe weather warning for heavy snow for the North Island's eastern and central ranges, saying 25-35cm of snow is expected on the Desert Road, and 15-20cm above 600m elevation on the Napier-Taupo Road.
Lesser amounts of snow could also be expected down to about 300m on the Napier-Taupo Road, it said.
MetService meteorologist John Law said some snow had fallen to low levels in Southland, Otago and Canterbury this morning, but the heaviest falls overnight would be in the eastern ranges of the North Island.
"It's mainly above about 400 metres or so, with the heaviest snow above about 800 metres."
Law said those who were planning to drive the Napier-Taupo Road or the Desert Road today or tomorrow should check road conditions and the latest forecasts before travelling.
Waka Kotahi said road closures were possible and motorists should maintain greater following distances between vehicles.
"People need to remain prepared for winter driving conditions, despite the move to spring earlier this month."
Further south, Remutaka Hill Road could see up to 1cm of snow accumulate overnight, MetService said, with snow expected above 400m from about 9pm.
Elsewhere, a heavy rain warning has been issued for northern and eastern parts of Northland and a strong wind warning is in place for Taranaki, where gusts of up to 120km/h are expected in exposed places overnight.
Auckland, Northland and eastern parts of the Bay of Plenty could also see strong winds overnight, MetService warned, and heavy rain was forecast for eastern parts of Auckland north of the Harbour Bridge, Great Barrier Island and Coromandel Peninsula today.
"It will be a windy night for places like New Plymouth, with gusts potentially as high as 120km/h," Law said.
"There will be some strong southwesterlies across Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland tonight, although they aren't expected to be as high."
Earlier, NIWA forecaster Nava Fedaeff said while strong winds had eased for the South Island, the chilly air would spread northwards throughout the day.
"Today the cold air is travelling over the South Island and overnight we are expecting snow over high elevations of the North Island as well.
"It's a bit of a wintry outbreak in spring."
The South Island passes - Lewis Pass (SH7) and Porters Pass (SH73) - would have snow on Monday afternoon through to Tuesday morning, and the Dunedin to Waitati Highway (SH1) was likely to be affected.
"In the South Island, Mother Nature is opening the fridge door today - it's a really chilly start to the day," Fedaeff said.
"A lot of the heavier snow is expected for the North Island because we've got that subtropical moisture that's coming from there today and they're going to interact."
The heaviest of the rain in the North Island was now likely to be in Coromandel Peninsula, the Bay of Plenty and East Cape, she said.
Widespread gales cause power outages, property damage in deep south
Two dozen Southland communities were without power yesterday as wild weather battered the region, ripping off roofs, tipping shipping containers and uprooting trees.
The wild weather caused parts of the district to lose power and trapped travellers trying to fly out of the area.
PowerNet chief executive Jason Franklin told Morning Report many coastal communities had been affected, with fallen trees causing problems.
He said over the course of the day about 200 of its customers had lost power, with Colac Bay, Riverton, Ōtātara and Bluff particularly impacted.
Most along the south coast had now had their connections restored, Franklin said and around half a dozen customers in inland Otago were still without power this morning.
He said the high winds had passed and the region was now bracing for today's temperature drop and the forecast snow.
"Everyone was pretty much restored by early evening last night, so we'll just wait and see what today brings."
Ski fields hoping for a better day after high winds
- "I'd wrap up warm if I was coming up the hill" - General manager of Cardrona Alpine Resort Laura Headley
Both the Cardrona and the Treble Cone ski fields were forced to close due to yesterday's high wind gusts.
Laura Headley, general manager of Cardrona Alpine Resort, told Morning Report the weather had made it impossible to safely run the chair lifts but she was hoping for more favourable conditions today.
"We had 100km [per hour] winds up the hill; so that's definitely un-runnable, for us."
It was a "bit of a bummer" she said, but high winds tended to close the mountain a couple of days per season and she hoped those who missed out yesterday could visit today instead.
"We've got some really nice weather coming; it's pretty cold up there today so we're sitting at about minus seven right now, so I'd wrap up warm if I was coming up the hill."