Snow closes Desert Road

A cold snap sweeping up the country has closed the Desert Road in the central North Island this afternoon.

The cold snap chilled the South Island yesterday and moved north today, bringing heavy rain and snow across the North Island.

State Highway 1 at the Desert Road was closed about 1.10pm because of snow, a police central communications spokesman said.

The MetService said snow would fall to about 600m across the central plateau and western Hawke's Bay, with up to 20cm accumulating by Monday morning.

Along with the Desert Road, it warned the Napier-Taupo and Napier-Taihape roads would be affected by snow and advised drivers to take care.

Snow was also possible on Rimutaka Hill Road and would develop in Porters Pass in Canterbury from midday down to 200m metres. It would clear late tomorrow morning.

The Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and Hawke's Bay would experience heavy rain today and early tomorrow.

People in those areas should watch for rapidly rising streams and rivers, the MetService said.

Wellington's winds would reach speeds of about 100km/h this afternoon, while Northland, Auckland and the Coromandel would have thunderstorms.

Between 20 and 25cm of snow fell around the Homer Tunnel in Fiordland yesterday, and Southland towns experienced day-long low temperatures of around 4 degrees in Gore, 6degrees in Lumsden and between 8 and 9 degrees in Invercargill.

- NZPA