Photos: Walking in a winter wonderland

No filter was needed when Twizel resident Lynlee Officer snapped these amazing pictures of the hoar frost during her afternoon walk with her dog.

The photos taken on Saturday show Lake Ruataniwha, the surrounding trees covered in white tips and snow-capped Ohau mountain range in the background.

Her chocolate labrador, Copper, posed for a snap in front of the winter wonderland.

At a chilly -6C, Mrs Officer said there "wasn't much point in hanging out the washing" when the pegs were covered in frost too.

Her photos have received a lot of attention on social media.

"I saw the frosts Auckland was getting, the thin layers of sleet on cars, so I took the pictures down here on my walk," Ms Officer said.

"I've had the tourism office ringing me and all these friend requests on Facebook because I put the photos up. I had no idea they would get this response."

A MetService spokeswoman said hoar frosts occur when the air has become so cold it can no longer hold on to moisture. Needle-like ice crystals form by direct condensation at temperatures below freezing point.

"It's been warmer than usual this winter, but we'll still be seeing these frosts mainly in inland South Island."

When temperatures drop below -6C, severe frosts are expected.

Motorists this morning were being told to drive with extra care with ice and fog warnings on roads across the country.

The New Zealand Transport Agency has tweeted an ice warning is in place for all state highways in the Bay of Plenty area.

Northern Fire Service shift manager Scott Osmond said fire crews had attended a spate of car crashes this morning including three on State Highway 30 since 6.30am.

Mr Osmond said ice had made road conditions treacherous throughout the central North Island.

In the latest incident a car had slid on ice on State Highway 1 north of Taupo near Maroa Rd.

A tweet said ambulance crews had attended traffic incidents in Tahawai and in Edgecumbe at 7.55am.

One person in the Tahawai accident suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene.
Two people in the Edgecumbe accident both suffered minor injuries and were taken to Whakatane Hospital for treatment.

There was also a warning for ice and fog on the South Island's State Highway 8 from Twizel to Lake Tekapo.

The agency advised extra care was needed travelling along all affected roads.

The crashes follow a string of incidents yesterday, including a car leaving the road near Tikitere and a truck rolling near Kawerau.

Both crashes were believed to have been caused by icy conditions.

Meanwhile police say the driver of a Freightliner curtainsider truck was "okay" after a fatal accident in the Waikato last night.

One person died in Waipa after the truck and an SUV collided on State Highway 39.
The crash occurred just after 8.30pm on Kakaramea Rd near the intersection with near Cochrane Rd.

Today police said there were only two people in each vehicle.

A post on the Waikato Road Policing Team Facebook page confirmed the driver of the truck was injured.

"The driver is ok, but understandably upset," said the post.

They also said visibility was reported to be near zero in places throughout the Waikato last night.

A police spokesman said it was too soon to say what role weather conditions played in the accident.

This week is looking a little less icy, starting off a little warmer before bone-chilling southerlies waft up the country.

After shivering their way through a frost-bitten start to Sunday, Northlanders and Aucklanders can ditch the bed socks as temperatures return to normal for the week.

Today, tomorrow and Wednesday will be settled for most, before the week turns back to what can be considered normal wintry weather.

Overall, expect "fairly settled" weather until Wednesday, with the odd downpour here and there. It will be fairly warm too, with Auckland possibly reaching highs of 17C.

But it will return to the usual 13C or thereabouts with the change in weather.

A low will develop over inland Australia before pushing out to the Tasman, where competing wind directions will send it spinning into our shores later in the week.

Next weekend looks like it could be cold and frosty and cold southerlies move up the South Island and hit Wellington on Friday.

"It gets cold everywhere at the weekend," said WeatherWatch's Philip Duncan.

He reckons inland areas will be the best spots and nominated Taupo in the North Island and Otago in the south as having the driest, clearest and calmest runs.

There's good news for ski fields too, with the cool change bringing snow. After it clears there will be a cool period, ideal for snow-making.

- additional reporting, Rotorua Daily Post and Jimmy Ellingham

This week's weather

Whangarei:

Showers are expected this week, with a chance of heavy rain on Thursday. The weekend is also looking wet with showers expected.

Auckland:

Fine spells with a few showers are expected tomorrow, showers come in later this week. The weekend is looking fine with some cloud.

Tauranga:

Tuesday and Wednesday are cloudy, with rain coming in on Thursday and expected to last till Saturday. Sunday is looking fine.

Hamilton:

Tuesday and Wednesday are cloudy, with rain expected on Thursday and Friday. Saturday is partly cloudy and Sunday is looking fine.

Wellington:

Partly cloudy on Tuesday and Wednesday, with rain coming in from Thursday to Saturday. Sunday is looking cloudy.

Christchurch:

Cloudy this week, with rain expected on Thursday and Friday. Rain is to clear by the weekend.

Dunedin:

The week is looking wet from Tuesday to Thursday, with rain clearing by Friday for a fine weekend.