Snow warnings for parts of South, Desert Road

A wintry blast is expected to bring snow to many parts of the country this Saturday and warnings are in place.

A road snow warning was in place for Desert Road until 11am Saturday, with MetService saying another period of snow was likely overnight Saturday and another warning could be issued closer to the time.

An orange snow warning was issued from 4pm Saturday until 9am Monday for Otago for areas south of the line from Queenstown to Alexandra and Mosgiel, as well as Southland and Stewart Island. The heaviest snow was expected from Saturday evening through to Sunday evening and 20cm to 35cm of snow was expected above about 300m.

And the Dunedin to Waitati Highway (SH1) could see 3cm to 6cm on the road from 6pm Saturday to 11am Sunday.

Snow was expected to settle on the road on the Lewis Pass (up to 7cm), Arthur's Pass (up to 5cm above 600m) and Haast Pass (up to 4cm above 400m), during Saturday.

Fiordland was also under an orange snow warning, with 30 to 40 cm of snow expected above 300m from midday Saturday to 4am Monday, for some areas and lesser amounts down to sea level.

Ski season opens on Mt Ruapehu

Mt Ruapehu planned to open its winter ski season on Saturday, despite uncertainty about its future.

However, it would be mostly sightseeing on the lifts because there was not enough snow yet to allow for skiing and snowboarding.

A $5 million government loan to the liquidators of Ruapehu Alpine Lifts this week saved the season for the Tūroa and Whakapapa skifields, but negotiations about who will take them over continue.

Ruapehu Alpine Lifts said there was new snow on the mountain and things were looking promising for the opening weekend - also the start of the school holidays.

Strong wind warning for Hawke's Bay and Tararua District

An orange strong wind warning was also issued by MetService for Hawke's Bay and the Tararua District for the period from 8pm Saturday through to 8am on Sunday. Winds there could gust up to 120km an hour.