A major highway on the Central Plateau is closed by a slip after heavy rain deluged weather-battered central regions overnight.
This morning State Highway 4 between Raetihi and Whanganui is impassable after a slip came down across the road.
It's not known how long it will take to clear the debris but motorists are having to use longer alternate routes to reach Whanganui.
The latest blockage comes only days after travel throughout the North Island ground to a halt as snowstorms swept across central and southern parts of the country.
The Taihape-Napier Road remains closed today as council workers plough through 1.5m frozen snowdrifts and more than 1000 households across the Central Plateau endure days without power.
The Rangitikei District Council says deep and frozen snow is proving hard work for the graders and loaders to clear.
Teams would be ploughing their way through snow from the Mangaohane and Taihape-Napier junction today.
It's not good news for those making do without power, with a flyover revealing damage throughout the Mangaweka region now far worse than first thought with at least 36 broken poles and downed wires to replace.
Powerco network operations manager Phil Marsh said crews had been drafted in from other regions to repair the storm damage and restore power to the 1300 affected households across Taihape, Waiouru and Mangaweka this week.