No closures as snow dusts Hawke’s Bay highways

Snow has dusted Hawke’s Bay roads north of Napier overnight, but not so much as to cause closures on Friday morning. Photo / Paul Taylor

Snow dusted Hawke’s Bay roads north of Napier but not so much as to cause closures for state highways on Friday morning.

Snow and ice did make the Hastings District Council shut the Napier-Taihape road on Thursday afternoon at the Gentle Annie however, with the road not reopening until 3pm on Friday afternoon.

Waka Kotahi snow and ice warnings remained in place on State Highway 5 between Napier and Taupō and State Highway 2 between Napier and Wairoa.

MetService warned of snowfall on State Highway 5 on Thursday evening, noting 2 to 3 cm of snow was expected to settle on the road.

MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said the coldest part of Hawke’s Bay overnight into Friday was the rural settlement of Te Haroto, along State Highway 5, with a low of minus 0.6 degrees Celsius.

Snow surrounded SH5 on Friday morning, at the bottom of Maungahururu range, Titiokura. Photo / Kylie Barton

She said temperatures in general sat between 0 and 5 degrees Celsius across Hawke’s Bay.

“Te Pōhue was about 1.2C, Takapau plains were about 2C and then everyone else was a bit warmer than that,” Makgabutlane said.

She said the weather system that brought snow and showers to the region is beginning to move away from the country.

“We are still assessing the risk for today, so keep an eye on the website for updates.”

She said temperatures will still not improve for Saturday or Sunday, but the weekend will likely have clearer skies and more sun.

“Places like Napier, Wairoa, will be about 0C to start the day off. Hastings will be even colder, about -2C.”