-
Snow on the Desert Road - Source: ONE News -
Watch Video
-
View Photos
-
Related
Winter has arrived a little early, and it appears to be here to stay.
MetService forecaster Geoff Sanders says the far south saw quite a bit of snow overnight Wednesday, while snow and cold showers hit the east of the South Island and the North Island south of Mt Ruapehu.
The reason for the icy blast is a low that has moved up from the south.
"It's had unobstructed access to the cold air mass over Antarctica, so it's pulled up all this cold air," says Jim Hickey, ONE News weather expert.
State Highway Four between National Park and Raetihi was closed due to snow and ice for a few hours.
"They've just become stuck in the ice and snow as they tried to get up some of the inclines," police communications inspector Ken Climo says.
The Desert Road has also now re-opened, after a dumping of snow at around 4am.
However, it may not be all over yet MetService has issued a weather watch for the Central North Island.
Heavy snow may fall about the plateau on Friday night and in the South Island, severe gales are being forecast near Banks Peninsula Friday morning.
All roads are open in the South Island but motorists were urged to drive with care.
Scarborough slip
Heavy rainfall is believed to be the main cause of the collapse of the Whitewash Head Road above Scarborough.
At about 7.30 Wednesday morning, a 12 metre stretch gave way following heavy rainfall.
The road's currently closed to vehicle access and to 23 homes on the road above and below the collapse is restricted.
The Christchurch City Council will be meeting with residents of Whitewash Head Road later today discuss plans for dealing with a major slip.
Accidents on the roads
Icy conditions caused havoc on our roads on Thursday morning.
Emergency services have now cleared a jackknifed truck from the Desert Road but it's thought the road may remain closed for some time.
Icy conditions on State Highway One between Waiouru and Three Sisters caused the accident.
In Taranaki, there have been six motor vehicle accidents in the space of an hour and a half.
Police Communications Team Leader Amanda Jenson says in the latest, black ice caused a car to flip in Inglewood just after 6.30am.
Police say the weather may have contributed to a fatal crash near Invercargill on Wednesday as heavy hail created treacherous road conditions.
Cold to continue
Southerlies were expected to continue chilling the North Island until at least Friday, possibly through to Sunday.
In Canterbury temperatures struggled to reach more than 4C on Wednesday, while rain and sleet fell on Banks Peninsula.
Weather analyst Philip Duncan said the cold snap was set to continue as winter had "well and truly arrived early".
"It's like we haven't had an autumn," he says.
"We are two months away from the coldest part of the year, so to see temperatures this low is certainly eyebrow-raising."
Southerlies were expected to continue chilling the North Island
until at least Friday, possibly through to Sunday, he said.
For up to
date weather forecasts for your region go to tvnz.co.nz's
weather page
