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Parts of the Waikato and Bay of Plenty were blanketed with hail yesterday as a freakish weather pattern shifted across the central North Island.
Unseasonal weather had Tokoroa looking like a Northern Hemisphere Christmas card after hailstones the size of 10c coins struck in an intense 10-minute storm about 5.30pm.
Samantha Hart, a checkout operator at Tokoroa New World, said the storm was "probably the first and last white Christmas I will ever see here".
She said the locals were keen to make the most of the rare event with many children jumping out of their cars or coming from their houses to have snowball fights.
"I have never, ever seen anything like this here before - the storm stopped about two hours ago and the place is still totally white," said Miss Hart.
John Van De Ven, a freelance photographer, said it was particularly special at this time of the year.
"Everyone loved it. It just looks so Christmasy - it's quite unusual for this time of year, especially with Christmas just around the corner."
Parts of the Bay of Plenty were also covered in hail with Opotiki and Whakatane reporting the rapid-fire storms about 5pm.
Whakatane police said there had been no reports of any damage or accidents.
Opotiki resident Shona Browne said she knew the weather forecast was for lightning, thunder and possible hail storms but was still shocked by yesterday's events which saw Opotiki looking as if it had snowed. "It's absolutely amazing. We've got our white Christmas," she said.
MetService forecaster Oliver Druce said hail had been predicted for parts of the Waikato and Bay of Plenty but it was unlikely there would be similar activity in the days up to Christmas.
Hail is formed when updraughts in thunderstorms carry raindrops upward into extremely cold areas of the atmosphere. Despite the winter conditions, things are looking up for those heading away on holidays this weekend.
MetService meteorologists are forecasting a period of clearing weather over the weekend before Christmas. "Some snow is falling on the mountains today and tonight," spokesman Bob McDavitt said. "This will only briefly settle because Friday is the longest day of the year.
"This has been a wet southerly. Christchurch had 56mm of rain overnight and this morning, with almost half of this falling between 3am and 5am.
"Take care [today] for that's when the cold south to southwest winds are forecast to strengthen on the Canterbury and Kaikoura coast as a low-pressure system travels north over the Chatham Islands," he said. "Wind and showers are expected to relax on Saturday and clear away on Sunday, bringing good driving conditions to most places."
Mr McDavitt said cloud and drizzle were likely to return to Fiordland, Westland and Southland by Christmas Eve. Christmas Day itself was expected to have fine weather in northern and eastern areas, with cloud in western areas.
After Christmas dinner there may be some drizzle between Manawatu and Waikato and some rain or drizzle for the west of the South Island.
* Air New Zealand has warned people picking up passengers flying in from London's Heathrow Airport to check arrival times after thick fog yesterday caused chaos.
- Additional reporting NZPA
