Gusts, heavy rain and snow forecast

Photo / Sarah Ivey

Strong winds, showers and snow are expected to welcome many back to work today.

At the weekend, several roads were closed as heavy rain caused surface flooding and slips in parts of the country.

Yesterday, a slip closed State Highway 2 between the Hutt Valley and Wellington for up to four hours as emergency workers cleared the site of debris and fallen power lines.

The slip occurred around 2pm, striking a car.

Meanwhile, flooding in Timaru led to the closure of up to 15 rural roads.

Another slip on State Highway 1, between Waipara and Kaikoura, caused delays yesterday morning, and heavy rain and snowfall in the South Island also meant several roads were blocked.

MetService's weather warnings of heavy snow in South Canterbury were the only major alerts last night, and they were expected to be lifted by this morning.

Weather forecaster Erick Brenstrum said people in and around Auckland were expected to wake up to showers - some heavy - and westerlies this morning.

A high of 14C and a low of 5C is expected in the city today.

Tomorrow is expected to bring more morning showers to the City of Sails, before easing to what should be a fine day, Mr Brenstrum said.

Mostly cloudy weather is forecast for the city on Wednesday and Thursday, before more rain on Friday.

Similar weather is forecast in areas around Auckland, including Taupo, the Waikato and right up to Northland.

"Wellington is going to be fairly windy [today], with rain, and it'll be a yucky day for them - and on Tuesday. It doesn't look good," Mr Brenstrum said.

Those in the Wairarapa should get ready for winds of around 70km/h and up to 100km/h today - gusts which are forecast to ease tomorrow.

People in Buller, Westport, Fiordland and surrounding areas are in for heavy rain on Thursday and Friday.

Snow was expected to fall over the central North Island overnight and through to this morning, meaning icy and potentially dangerous road conditions.

- additional reporting NZPA