A cabbage tree adomed with snow near Glenross Rd, Waiwhare. Photo / Duncan Brown
A cabbage tree adomed with snow near Glenross Rd, Waiwhare. Photo / Duncan Brown
Hawke's Bay can expect warmer weather as it farewells an Antarctic blast which blanketed the region with snow this week, forecasters say.
WeatherWatch.co.nz head weather analyst Philip Duncan said the snowy weather had likely run its course, after another dumping yesterday, which adorned Te Mata Peak with white flurries.
The icy conditions caused SH2 to Gisborne to be closed yesterday afternoon, while other highways remained open, but extra caution was advised.
Senior Sergeant Nick Dobson, of the Eastern District Command Centre, said only four-wheel drive vehicles would be capable of navigating SH2.
"It's wet and slippery and marginal. Snow is piled up high on both sides of the road," he said.
Hastings was also listed as the wettest city in the country by MetService yesterday, with 1mm of rainfall, while the rest of the country was relatively dry.
Mr Duncan expected the weather to improve from today onwards.
"The snow has pretty much finished now. Although there could be a few isolated flurries higher up, it's clearing away from the North Island's East Coast."
He said some farmers in the Wairarapa, Hawke's Bay and Gisborne areas had this week reported the most significant snowfall they'd seen in up to 60 years.
The snow was caused by a freezing low which came up from Antarctica and had now passed over the region. The East Coast's exposure to the southerly meant it was among the most-affected areas of the country.
"Northern Hawke's Bay particularly, that just juts right out to sea - there's nothing between them and Antarctica. This week, wind was hitting Napier directly from Antarctica.
"That's why we've seen snow to such low levels."
However, warmer weather was on the way in the form of a subtropical northerly.
"Next week you'll have the complete opposite. The wind will be coming from New Caledonia in the subtropics."
Temperatures would return to the double digits this weekend, with daytime highs up to 12C, after Thursday saw Hastings' second-lowest high recorded since 1972 - a numbing 6.6C.
By Thursday next week, an agreeable high of 17C was expected for Napier. However, the northwesterly front could also bring a period of rain.
Brief power disturbances in region Households throughout Hawke's Bay may have experienced flickering lights yesterday morning, due to snow in the hills.
Unison Networks customer care manager Danny Gough said there were brief power disturbances across the East Coast, from Hawke's Bay to Gisborne.
"They would have experienced dipping lights for maybe a few seconds. It would have affected most of our customers in Hawke's Bay, if not all of them."
Te Mata Peak was crowned with flurries of snow yesterday morning.
He said the disturbances were not a Unison fault, but a wider network issue, likely caused by the inclement weather hitting the East Coast.
"The snow in the high country has been affecting the distribution network across the East Coast and we are expecting more information to come to light. As soon as we know more, we will advise our customers."
Motorists advised to check roading updates online The Napier-Taupo highway was expected to be open for traffic today although motorists are being advised to check for roading updates on the New Zealand Transport Agency website.
The highway closed for the second time this week on Thursday night but as NZTA spokesman Oliver Postings explained, it was not due to snow.
"The surface had become wet and, with the freezing conditions, it iced over and we were unable to break it up."
Contractors had to let Mother Nature do the job for them as conditions warmed up during yesterday morning and the ice thawed.
The highway was reopened about 10.30am yesterday after NZTA inspectors had checked it out.
Late yesterday, as conditions began to ease, Mr Postings said they did not foresee any reason to close it again, but motorists needed to be aware that if ice did sheet up, they could well see "closed" signs go up at the Napier and Taupo ends.
He said while there was "plenty" of snow across the high country stretches of the highway, the road was clear.
He advised motorists to use extreme care and caution across SH5.
Motorists travelling north on SH2 to Wairoa will have no issues but the stretch from there to Gisborne will likely remain closed due to the large amount of snow, which has fallen across the Gisborne area.
"Again, check the websites but it has been too treacherous to open it at this stage," Mr Postings said late yesterday.
Snow on the Rangitaiki side of the Napier-Taihape Rd kept it closed overnight although the stretch between Napier and the Kuripapaonga Bridge was open.
