Aiman Amerul Muner/Stuff
A thick layering of snow fell in Lake Tekapo on Saturday afternoon as a cold front moved up the South Island.
King’s Birthday weekend is coming to a chilly end with thunderstorms, heavy rain, hail and snow.
Temperatures failed to get above 10C for much of the country early this morning – and there’s more rain and wind to come.
About 3 to 4 cm of snow fell in some inland South Island locations, with a chance of more snow on Monday for parts of the south.
“We’ve got a front over the North Island wrapping into a low that’s just west of Northland and moving north and east, so it’s bringing a lot of rain to the upper half of the North Island,” MetService meteorologist Alwyn Bakker said.
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The top half of the North Island could have thunderstorms, bringing the risk of heavy rain and hail, Bakker said.
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Hawke’s Bay, the Coromandel Peninsula and Gisborne could see a drenching as heavy rain watches are placed over the three regions from Monday morning through to Tuesday.
The wet and windy front – which began west of Taranaki just after midnight – would pass to the west of Auckland, before reaching north of Northland Monday evening.
Auckland will see showery conditions throughout Monday, which are expected to continue into Tuesday.
Strong wind watches are in place for Wellington and the Marlborough Sounds on Monday. It could reach severe gale-strength at times. A similar watch will come into place for Taranaki from 6pm Monday through to Tuesday morning.
Wellington region has seen rain and showery conditions throughout Monday morning.
The Coromandel Peninsula and eastern Bay of Plenty were at a moderate risk of thunderstorms on Monday afternoon and through to the evening, and up to 20mm of rain possible per hour.
Further south, rug up for the colder conditions, with snow falling in some areas overnight, Bakker said.
Aiman Amerul Muner/Stuff
A thick layering of snow fell in Lake Tekapo on Saturday afternoon as a cold front moved up the South Island.
Snow to 600 metres was possible in southern Marlborough early monday, and snow 400 metres inland was possible in Canterbury.
Showery and cloudy conditions are expected in Christchurch throughout Monday, while Dunedin will see similar conditions.
Nelson, Buller and Westland including the Grey District are also under strong wind watches until Tuesday afternoon – with winds approaching severe gale in exposed places – particularly inland areas.
On Sunday, heavy snowfall closed Lindis Pass State Highway 8 between Omarama and Tarras.
The weather front is expected to ease off through Monday and into Tuesday as the system travelled north.
The South Island would see frosty conditions for most of the week. But for those further north, the temperatures are roughly back to average for the start of winter, Bellam said.