Mop up underway after weekend storm

A gaping chasm has appeared in a south Waikato road as councils across the North Island begin to take stock of damage in the wake of the weekend's storm.

Enormous swells whipped up by gales closed roads in the greater Wellington region with pounding waves leaving debris strewn across the road and making coastal highways impassable.

At least one North Island road suffered a major washout with a gulf appearing which has left Key Rd in rural Tokoroa carved in two following heavy rain in the region.

"The wild weather over the weekend threw a few branches around and caused this road erosion on Key Rd near Tokoroa," said a post on the Civil Defence Waikato facebook page.

Kapiti Coast District Council was today left with a large clean-up job removing debris left by sea water surging over coastal areas, including the state highway, overnight.

While the country enjoys a brief reprieve from the wind and rain most of the South Island can brace for temperatures diving below zero at the start of the next two days.

In the north a road snowfall warning has been issued for the Desert Rd with up to 3cm expected to fall on the highway between 7am and midday tomorrow.