Some motorists in the South Island were being urged to "avoid the area or delay their journeys" this morning due to a dumping of snow which has closed some state highways.
Yesterday the forecaster extended road snowfall warnings for Lewis Pass (SH7), Arthur's Pass (SH73), Crown Range Rd and Milford Road (SH94) as it expected "snow showers" to blow through overnight.
This morning New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) said State Highway 73 between Arthur's Pass Village and Otira was closed due to snow.
"People are asked to avoid the area or delay their journeys as roading crews seek to clear the road," an NZTA spokesperson said.
Just after 8.30am, NZTA said State Highway 7 was now also closed because of snow between the turnoff to Hanmer Springs and Springs Junction (including Lewis Pass).
"People are also urged to take care driving on roads that are open but also affected by snow," NZTA said.
"Updates will be provided as the road status changes," they said.
How the weather's looking for Halloween, Auckland Marathon and Diwali? Watch on TVNZ+
MetService meteorologist Heather Keats says warmer temperatures and "great" weather is coming this weekend following a cold and snowy start. (Source: Breakfast)
MetService meteorologist Heather Keats said a small tornado seen in Ashburton yesterday was "pretty impressive".
"We had been talking about the risk of thunderstorms and possible small tornadoes for a couple of days, but it is still impressive when you get to see footage like that," she said.
"There was about 800 lightning strikes, so not too many, but the majority of those coming from that one cell that moved over Canterbury yesterday.
"There was 3cm-diametre hail. That's big hail. That's really big. So that hail can cause damage to cars and crops, so worth keeping an eye on when we do start talking about the risk of severe thunderstorms," she said.
She said across the South Island things today were "still going to be pretty cold".
"So we've got that west southwest flow today, and it's pretty rubbish weather, to be honest.
"Strong, maybe gusty west to southwest winds, and that cold air, of course, with those road snowfall warnings in place too."
Keats said looking forward to the weekend there would be an "uptick in temperatures".
"There will be a return to nor'westers on Sunday. Places like Christchurch looking at a high of 23C on Sunday, which looks quite nice because Stewart Island today their high is 9C. I mean, that's not pleasant."
For the rest of the country, Keats told Breakfast the weather was expected to be "great".
"It is great trick or treating weather. We have high pressure, which is everyone's best friend if you're walking around the neighbourhood. But if you are somewhat dressed somewhat scantily-clad, it is cold. So I would suggest being a werewolf, something with a fur coat," she said.
She said for large outdoor events in Auckland such as Diwali and the Auckland Marathon, "the runners will be very happy".
"It's going to be great weather for all of the weekend for Auckland for all of those outdoor events, which is great. Obviously, with Diwali, the big public firework display, it's not looking too windy, so that's great. And of course, we've got Guy Fawkes coming up next week as well."
The morning's headlines in 90 seconds including a tornado on a Canterbury farm, and a dizzying new world record. (Source: 1News)
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