KEY POINTS:
Dig out those thermals. Winter has well and truly arrived. The first real flurry of cold weather hit North Island yesterday as a brisk southerly whipped its way up the country.
The cold snap still wasn't sufficient to blanket the Whakapapa and Turoa skifields which remained closed yesterday - but it did have many North Islanders scrambling for the winter woollies as temperatures dropped to a chilly four degrees in some areas.
The MetService says the first blast of winter would have been more noticeable than usual, after the mild autumn and the warmest May in more than 140 years.
Spare a thought, though, for those in Hawkes Bay, where the cold spell is expected to bring heavy snow, showers and single-digit temperatures today.
Motorists need not worry - the Napier to Taihape road and Napier to Taupo roads are unlikely to be affected.
After fine weather early in the week, a low from the north Tasman Sea is expected to bring some heavy rain from Northland to Bay of Plenty and Gisborne, followed by squally westerlies. Farmers are being warned strong winds, damp conditions and sub-zero temperatures could cause increasing stress to animals left unsheltered.
