Ice causes crashes in Bay of Plenty

Ice on SH36 has already caused two crashes and people are urged to drive with care. Photo/file

Treacherous road conditions around the region contributed to "several" minor crashes this morning.

Senior Sergeant Andrew Allerton said a number of cars had left roads throughout the region due to the weather.

At 6.30am a car flipped on its side on State Highway 30 near Horohoro, at 7.30am a car lost control on ice on the road at the intersection of State Highway 36 and Te Matai Rd, then a third crash happened, also on State Highway 36, only minutes after and in the same area as the 7.30am accident.

At 9.10am a car crashed into a police car on State Highway 33 between Maniatutu Rd and Allport Rd. There were no injuries but the police car was damaged and needed a tow truck.

The damaged police car. Photo/Supplied

A police media spokeswoman said the cause of the crash was unknown at this stage.

A car with three people also crashed near Taupo after skidding on black ice just after 8am. The crash happened on Poihipi Rd about 400m from the intersection with State Highway 32.

A police spokeswoman said there were no injuries but the car was blocking half the road and leaking fluid.

Police were called to a crash in Broadlands Forest Park shortly after 7am. This was a single vehicle crash. One person was assessed at the scene and treated by ambulance staff.

"We are urging people to drive to conditions and be especially vigilant before the sun comes up," Mr Allerton said.

"That's the message we are giving to the community and to our staff who are attending these minor crashes."

He said despite the volume of crashes, he was not aware of any injuries resulting from any of them.

"I understand we are expecting another cold night tonight so please take care if you are driving, particularly before the sun melts ice on the road."

The chilly weather in Rotorua bit again this morning with temperatures plummeting to a freezing -3.2C at 6am.

However, despite being cold, it was a little warmer than yesterday morning when temperatures dropped to -3.8 between 4am and 6am overnight.

The official low for today is 1C but the rest of the week will get slightly warmer with lows between 5C to 8C.

MetService Meteorologist Claire Flynn confirmed tonight would be another cold one in Rotorua.

"Tomorrow is expected to be fine at first although clouds are forecast for later in the day. The clear start means a fairly frosty morning with an overnight low of 1C so there could very well be ice on the roads."

She said rain was expected on Wednesday with the possibility of heavy showers later in the day. "The rain will mean the overnight temperatures are warmer with an overnight low of 5C."

On Thursday rain eases to the odd shower with an overnight low of 8C and, on Friday, it will be fining up again, dropping the overnight temperature to 5C.