Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

MetService confirms no snow in Northland despite sightings amid cold snap

Brodie Stone
By Brodie Stone
Multimedia Journalist·Northern Advocate·
9 Jun, 2025 04:00 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Skifields in North and South Islands prepare for a bumper Winter

A sighting of possible snow in Northland sparked quite the flurry of excitement over the weekend.

MetService said while temperatures dipped across the region, it was not cold enough for snowfall.

Waimamaku local Stephen Wykes was heading toward Dargaville on Waipoua Forest Rd on Saturday morning when he and his wife spotted patches of white along the road.

The pair jokingly agreed it looked as though they had been transported to the South Island.

“We said, ‘Oh look, it’s been snowing’.”

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Patches of white could be seen along Waipoua Forest Rd early on Saturday morning. Photo / Stephen Wykes
Patches of white could be seen along Waipoua Forest Rd early on Saturday morning. Photo / Stephen Wykes

The pair stopped on the side of the road where Wyke’s wife took some photos.

It looked as though melted snow was building up on the side of the road, Wykes said.

It also didn’t appear to be ice that had been dumped either, especially given there were a dozen patches on either side of the road.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Wykes then posted on his local Waimamaku Facebook page.

“It’s cold, snow in Northland,” his post read.

To his amazement, the post garnered over 2000 likes, 300 comments and 250 shares.

“I didn’t think 2000 people would be looking at the Waimamaku Facebook page,” he joked.

Comments on the post marvelled at the sight, while others suggested it was hail.

As it turns out, they were correct.

MetService meteorologist Kgolofelo Dube said that despite a cold front moving up from the South Island, snow had not come with it.

Dube said thunderstorms overnight on Saturday likely came with hail.

Small hail generally didn’t linger on the ground for long, but lower temperatures could mean larger hail had accumulated and remained for longer.

“We did see a dip in temperatures, but not cold enough for snow,” she said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Temperatures dipped to 3.5C overnight in Ruatangata and into the early morning on Saturday.

And on Sunday, Whangārei dipped to 5.1C, 5.9C in Kerikeri and 8.2C at Cape Rēinga.

The coldest June date on record for Kerikeri since records started in 1978 was in June 1994 when it got to -1.0C.

In Whangārei on that same day, temperatures dipped to -0.1C.

According to Northern Advocate records, history was made in 2011 when a “light dusting” of snow fell atop the Tangihua Ranges.

Old Northern Advocate reports also showed snow fell on July 27, 1939, on the Otaua Hills, about 10 miles from Kaikohe and also on the Taheke-Waimatenui Hills.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“The fall was very slight but was sufficient to be noticeable from roads in the district and did not thaw until late this morning,” the report said.

Dube said Northlanders could expect to see the last of chilly temperatures this week.

“Going into tomorrow , there will be a nice recovery in those minimum temperatures.”

Temperatures in Whangārei should sit around 18C during the day and 20C on Wednesday.

“It should remain relatively warm throughout the week.”

Although warmer temperatures might be welcome news for some, rain was on the horizon.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“We will see another band of showery weather coming in, and it looks like it might be quite unstable with a few thunderstorms as well.”

Showers for Northland were expected tomorrow , Wednesday and into Thursday as well.

Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

'An honour': Far North cafe's triple victory at national awards

12 Jun 03:00 AM
Northern Advocate

World's fastest teen descends on Whangārei for cross country champs

12 Jun 02:17 AM
Northern Advocate

Watch: Discover top talent at this year's Smokefreerockquest and Showquest

12 Jun 01:57 AM

It was just a stopover – 18 months later, they call it home

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

'An honour': Far North cafe's triple victory at national awards

'An honour': Far North cafe's triple victory at national awards

12 Jun 03:00 AM

Peekaboo Backyard Eatery won the Supreme Award at the Lion Hospitality Awards.

World's fastest teen descends on Whangārei for cross country champs

World's fastest teen descends on Whangārei for cross country champs

12 Jun 02:17 AM
Watch: Discover top talent at this year's Smokefreerockquest and Showquest

Watch: Discover top talent at this year's Smokefreerockquest and Showquest

12 Jun 01:57 AM
Second Northland Two by Twos member charged with sex offences to stand trial

Second Northland Two by Twos member charged with sex offences to stand trial

12 Jun 01:10 AM
The woman behind NZ’s first PAK’nSAVE
sponsored

The woman behind NZ’s first PAK’nSAVE

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP