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Snow is falling as far north as the Kaimai Ranges in the Waikato as a bitterly cold wintry blast hits the country. Eyewitness reports from Te Aroha confirm snow has fallen to about 800 metres on Mt Te Aroha in the eastern Waikato.
Just a hundred kilometres north and snow clouds can be seen around Auckland city. "They tend to have a bronze tinge to them" says TRN's chief weather analyst Philip Duncan.
"If Sky Tower was 3 times its height it would be snowing on the top". Duncan says the freezing level will lower to around 1000 metres over Auckland today.
Hail showers lashed the city this morning and a cold sou'wester is blowing.
Sleet has been reported in New Plymouth, Palmerston North and Wellington.
Snow is now falling in Queenstown, Dunedin, Ashburton and just recently started in Christchurch.
The temperature in Christchurch has dropped from 7 degrees to 2 degrees at around 1.30pm.
Hail showers were slowly moving in to Taranaki and Auckland.
In the South Island, Invercargill Weather Watch reporter Malcolm Gayfer said it's sleeting in Gore and it's been snowing steadily in Queenstown all night with reports of up to 7 inches [18cms] since yesterday.
Meanwhile our reporter in Dunedin, Callum Procter said all sports in the city have been closed with "blizzard like conditions".
Several roads in the South Island remain closed due to snow and ice.
The Desert road remains closed in the North Island with the Weather Watch Centre expecting flurries to last right through Sunday and possibly off and on until Tuesday.
Duncan says across the country temperatures are struggling to reach double digits. "Most places are between 0 and 5 degrees in the South Island and 7 and 8 in the North Island". Duncan says no major centres have reached double digits yet.
In Wanganui, Weather Watch reporter Greg Lincoln said a major hailstorm around 6am caused road accidents in the city. "There was also a pretty hefty lightning and thunderstorm earlier this morning".
The Weather Watch Centre's Lightning Radar has recorded around 2200 strikes so far this morning, mostly along the nation's west coast.
But it's conditions on the east coast of New Zealand that are expected to worsen today from Dunedin north eastwards to Gisborne. "Sleet and snow will fall across Dunedin and Canterbury as a low east of the island deepens. That deepening will see isobars closely packed together which will send a bitterly cold gale force southerly into the Capital for tonight's All Black test".
Duncan said snow will fall to low levels on the ranges around Wellington tonight.
Duncan said the weather will be atrocious for many areas across New Zealand today and motorists should take extreme care due to ice from snow, sleet or hail.
- SOURCE: WEATHER WATCH CENTRE
