There was likely to be a decent amount of snowfall on Southern Lakes ski fields and the Southern Alps with the snow even affecting some higher alpine passes including the Milford Rd, the Crown Range Rd and Arthur's Pass.
Adams said the front was forecast to cross the South Island tomorrow and make its way over the remainder of the country on Thursday.
The upper South Island and lower North Island would be pounded by potentially damaging northerly gales tomorrow and Thursday.
And there was a moderate risk of potentially damaging severe gales for inland parts of Southland to Canterbury, with a high risk for the Canterbury High Country, Marlborough, Wellington and southern Wairarapa.
The front was also expected to bring heavy rain to both islands stretching from Port Waikato through to Kapiti Coast in the North Island and the west coast of the South Island.
Adams said the wintry blast would sweep up the country in a matter of days and apart from showers the weather would improve by the weekend.
Meanwhile, sub-zero temperatures swept parts of the South Island yesterday, with some places plummeting to a chilly -3C in the afternoon.
Inland parts of the South Island were especially cold, with temperatures at -3C in Middlemarch and Twizel, while Cromwell hovered closely behind at -2C.
Other parts of Southland, Otago and inland Canterbury had temperatures between 3C and 6C in the afternoon.
