Respite from cold likely to be short-lived

The cold front lingering over the country created this waterspout several kilometres from the Bay of Plenty coast.

The cold spell across the country is expected to ease only briefly, with another blast of bad weather likely to last until next week.

Wintry conditions eased yesterday but the cold front created a large waterspout in the Bay of Plenty and left treacherous driving conditions in the Central Plateau.

Mt Maunganui resident Ryan Halbert, who took this picture, said his afternoon was briefly interrupted when a huge volume of water was churned up a few kilometres offshore.

"We were sitting on the deck and my flatmate called me over to see this funnel coming from the sea.

"It sat out in front of the island for about 10 minutes. I'm from the Southern States so we're used to tornadoes. But this was never going to connect with the ground ... it wasn't alarming."

The snow clouds cleared long enough yesterday to offer stunning views of Mt Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe along State Highway 1.

The cold conditions continued causing problems for seven truck drivers trapped for several hours on State Highway 4 through National Park by snow and ice.

The Desert Rd was also closed as driving conditions became too dangerous when a truck and trailer jack-knifed, blocking both lanes.

But despite the cold southerly blasts which continued to whistle their way up SH1 north of Waiouru, much of the central North Island enjoyed postcard-perfect conditions with clear skies.

By midday much of Wednesday's snow had melted away.

Weather forecasters say the cold weather, which resulted in temperatures in cities throughout the North Island struggling to make the teens, could linger this weekend.

Weather Watch analyst Philip Duncan said a weak front moving up the North Island could bring more snow flurries and a cold southeasterly is likely to keep temperatures low again.

Metservice weather ambassador Bob McDavitt said snow was expected to fall to 400m or 500m in the east of the South Island, and would also affect the Central Plateau including the Desert Rd on Friday night.

The southerly winds were expected to die out in the South Island during Sunday and Monday and by Wednesday in the North.

However, clearing skies were likely to bring frosty conditions inland, said Mr McDavitt.

- additional reporting Isaac Davison and NZPA