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Rain is heading south and snow is heading north as two weather systems battle it out over the country, bringing "a little bit of everything" and possibly the coldest southerly change of the year, forecasters say.
Motorists are warned that snow could make driving dangerous and farmers are being warned to moved stock to shelter over the next few days.
"The low in the north is continuing to pump out rain band after rain band -- but with dry spells in between," said WeatherWatch.co.nz head weather analyst Philip Duncan.
That rain would slowly nudge southwards today, clouding up the skies over the South Island while at the same time a cold front was firing out of the Southern Ocean, crossing the Southland coastline by late afternoon, bringing showers with sleet or hail, he said.
Another cold front would arrive by nighttime, bringing snow to sea level in Southland, Otago and Canterbury tomorrow, including most of the main centres along the eastern coastline, Mr Duncan said.
The cold air would hit the south-bound rain bands, turning them to snow. WeatherWatch.co.nz predicted rain and sleet in Wellington late tomorrow and more so into Monday with a snow and rain mix possible in the higher suburbs and also around Palmerston North, Masterton, Taupo and Stratford.
Snow was forecast for the alpine pass roads and the Milford Road in the South Island and for the road over the Rimutaka Ranges, the Napier-Taupo highway and the Desert Road in the North Island.
The MetService warned farmers to move stock to shelter from bitterly cold winds and snow and motorists of hazardous driving conditions because of wind, rain and snow.
The MetService, in its latest forecast for the weekend said "significant accumulations" of snow are likely in Fiordland south of Manapouri, Southland, eastern Otago from Dunedin to Clutha, north Canterbury and Kaikoura, forecaster Hordur Thordarson said.
Heavy snow expected for Hawke's Bay and Taihape was likely to cause major disruptions to traffic and make driving conditions very difficult, Mr Thordarson said.
Meanwhile, heavy rain has closed the only road around the East Coast between Ruatoria and Tokomaru Bay for at least two days.
It washed out the approaches to the bailey bridge on State Highway 35 at Kopuaroa, which was being used while a replacement bridge is built.
Contractors estimated the road would be closed until Monday or Tuesday at the earliest, New Zealand Transport Agency principal asset manager Gordon Hart said.
"Unfortunately there are no detours available, and we appreciate this is very frustrating for all the locals, farmers, truckies and tourists who rely on this vital lifeline."
The wintry blast is hitting in the middle of the school holidays, making driving conditions difficult. Yesterday wild weather saw a twister hit a shack in Northland and high winds blow over two trucks in the lower North Island.
Canterbury police urged drivers to be extremely careful and consider delaying trips.
"Unfortunately the severe weather forecast falls in the middle of the school holidays, when a significant number of vehicles will be on the roads," acting road policing manager Senior Sergeant Glenn Nalder said.
"The last thing we want is for family holidays to be devastated by crashes."
- NZPA
