More snow shuts Canterbury roads

More bad weather has hit the country, with snow closing Canterbury roads and heavy rain predicted for the Coromandel and Bay of Plenty.

State Highway 73 between Canterbury and the West Coast has already been shut due to snow, and further south, chains are essential on State Highway 8 between Fairlie and Twizel.

However, the cold blast could be good news for skiers and snowboarders. Mount Hutt, which is closed today, has already had 15 centimetres fall in the past 12 hours.

The MetService earlier said snowfalls should ease overnight, but were expected to affect all the higher roads, especially the Porter and Arthurs Passes.

Meanwhile, forecasters warned of heavy rain in the Coromandel Peninsular and western Bay of Plenty.

Sixty to 80mm of rain is expected to fall in the ranges from this afternoon until early on Thursday and the MetService has advised people to watch for rapidly rising rivers and slips.

Other northern regions, including Northland,Auckland, Waikato and Taupo could see some brief heavy falls today, but are not expected to reach warning criteria, the MetService said.

- NZPA / NEWSTALK ZB