Snow closes Desert Road

The Desert Road has been closed due to snowfall overnight.

Motorists can no longer traverse the high altitude section of State Highway One through the Central Plateau since heavy snow fell overnight.

MetService meteorologist Hannah Moes said staff had estimated up to 4cm of snow had fallen overnight on the Desert Road.

New Zealand Transport Agency has listed a detour through Ohakune and National Park as the alternate route.

Ms Moes said the weather would be fine for parts of the North Island today as a cold front moves across the South Island and into the lower North Island this evening.

"There's a lot of fine areas but a lot of showers about Taranaki up the western side through parts of Waikato, Auckland and Northland that could spread across to Coromandel and be quite heavy," she said.

Snow has also closed the Milford Road in the South Island.