The Desert Rd has reopened after earlier closing due to snowfall, as much of the country is either lashed with gales or braces for gales on the way. It comes after some Kiwis were woken early today by severe overnight weather.
State Highway (SH) 1 Rangipo to Waiouru (Desert Road) was closed due to snow about 4am.
It was reopened about 2.15pm, with Waka Kotahi NZTA thanking people for their patience.
A detour was in place, but Waka Kotahi warned it would "add at least 1.5 hours to your journey time".
A road snowfall warning is in place for the stretch of highway from 10am to 3pm today.
SH 49 Waiouru to Ohakune and SH 1 Waiouru to Taihape were also closed earlier, but have since reopened.
A Southern Ocean air mass washing over the country led to the chilly spell.
"A bit of a shock to the system!" NIWA Weather wrote on Twitter.
As well as Desert Rd, road snowfall warnings are in place for Lewis Pass (SH7) from 1am to 7am tomorrow, Arthur's Pass (SH73) from midnight tonight to 6am tomorrow, Lindis Pass (SH8) from 2am to noon tomorrow, Crown Range Road from 2am to noon tomorrow, and Milford Road (SH94) from 11pm tonight to 6am tomorrow.
The strong southwest flow is set to affect the country today and into tomorrow.
A number of strong wind warnings and watches have been issued.
Orange strong wind warnings are in affect for Banks Peninsula from 3pm to midnight tomorrow; for Dunedin and North Otago from 6am to 4pm tomorrow; and for Clutha, Southland south of Lumsden and Stewart Island from 10pm tonight to noon tomorrow.
"Strong wind gusts could damage trees, powerlines and unsecured structures," MetService warns.
"Driving may be hazardous, especially for high-sided vehicles and motorcycles."
Peak gusts could reach 120 km/h at times, the meteorological service warns.
And strong wind watches are in place for Northland south of Kawakawa, Auckland, Great Barrier Island and Coromandel Peninsula from 9am to 1pm today; for coastal areas of Gisborne/Tairawhiti and Hawke's Bay between Tokomaru Bay and Wairoa from 9am to 4pm today; for Wairarapa south of Featherston, Wellington and the Kaikoura Coast from 9pm tomorrow to 6am Friday; and for Canterbury High Country from midnight tonight to 6am tomorrow.
"Southerly change. Cold front. Call it what you want. It's coming," NIWA Weather tweeted on Monday.
People are advised to monitor the MetService website for the latest forecasts and the Waka Kotahi website for the latest road updates.
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