Wintry blast springs a surprise visit

High winds brought a large tree down on to a driveway and carport in Hamilton East. Photo / Christine Cornege

Country shivers as high winds, rain and snow disrupt travel and cut power to thousands of Auckland homes.

Ferries were cancelled, roads were closed and thousands were without power in Auckland as a wintry blast blew through yesterday.

The strong southwesterly flow was easing last night, MetService meteorologist Mariken van Laanen said.

Temperatures in Auckland reached 14C yesterday and 12C in Wellington, while the high in Christchurch was just 8C. Overnight, Auckland was expected to go as low as 5C.

But the cold snap was not unusual for this time of year, Ms van Laanen said.

Photos: Wild weather affects North and South

Image 1 of 10: Snow blankets a car in Brockville, Dunedin. Photo / Otago Daily Times

"It's quite normal for spring weather, especially at the beginning of the season. Temperatures will gradually start to warm up a little bit from now."

The stormy weather left 10,000 Auckland households without power, from Otara in the south to Te Arai in the north, Vector said.

By last night about 2192 customers were facing a chilly night without power.

A spokeswoman for the Vector lines company, Sandy Hodge, said gusts of up to 90km/h had brought trees down on lines.

"Crews are out working on faults and extra crews were brought on earlier this morning in anticipation of the storm front coming through," she said.

Strong winds also brought trees down in Hamilton.

Swells of up to 6m in Cook Strait forced Interislander ferry services to be cancelled, including freight-only departures scheduled in the afternoon.

Watch: Snow storm hits the South

Full services were expected to resume overnight.

Buses replaced some train services in the capital after the high tide and wind caused water to cover rail tracks south of Petone, KiwiRail said.

Earlier, the Desert Rd was closed because of snow but reopened about midday, said New Zealand Transport Agency spokesman Anthony Frith.

"We are just urging people to drive to the conditions and take great care across the whole country."

Canterbury roads were also treacherous as the region was lashed by strong winds and sleety showers, the Transport Agency said.

A roof that had lifted off a Christchurch house in Peterborough St in the strong winds was secured by fire crews, while winds also ripped off a panel on the Forsyth Barr building in the central city.

But ski fields on Mt Ruapehu welcomed the cold snap, with 30cm of fresh snow at Whakapapa and 15cm at Turoa.

"It's been some years since we have seen this amount of snowfall at this time of the year. It's incredible," said Mt Ruapehu customer relations manager Annah Dowsett.

"Skiers need to be prepared, waiting and ready to drop everything to be here when the weather clears. You don't want to miss this."