Snow has fallen on the Kaimai Range, confirming for many Western Bay residents that this morning was one of the coldest of the year so far.
The snow caps the range near Katikati as a polar blast makes its way through the country, blanketing most of the central North Island with snow. Usually the range does not receive any.
Temperatures dropped to 4 degrees in Tauranga overnight but Metservice warned the 4 degrees actually felt like -1C as of 8am today.
Metservice recommended people wear four layers of clothing and today's temperature was not expected to reach beyong 11C by about 2pm before dropping back to 5C this evening.