Snow blast: Falls in Rotorua and Taupo

Snow fell in Rotorua and Taupo as a cold wintry blast hits the country - and temperatures are not expected to warm up until later in the week.
Off Road New Zealand owner Carol Tew said snow fell for up to 15 minutes about 9.30am yesterday at their Mamaku business on Amoore Rd.
"It was nice thick snow. Nothing settled unfortunately. Some of the guys here were quite excited to see it."
Tarawera's Anaru Rangiheuea said he could see "quite a sprinkling" of snow on Mt Tarawera late yesterday morning but it was not as heavy as it had been in previous years.
But it was Taupo which got a much a bigger fall of snow.
The Barnett family went outside when snow began falling at their Loch Views Rd home about 7.30am yesterday.
Michelle Barnett said it was the first time she had seen snow falling in Taupo since 1996 and it was really exciting for her two daughters Charlotte, 5, and Emily, 2.
She said it snowed for more than 30 minutes at their home, and the family made a snowman.
Wellington couple Karen and Stephen Toplis, with boys Sam, 8, and Jaime, 6, were among dozens of families who made their way to the hills above Acacia Bay.
The boys delighted in throwing snowballs and sliding down the white hills - especially Jaime who hadn't seen snow before.
"It's a bit crunchy but it is very good ... it's fabulous."
Mr Toplis said the snow was an added bonus to their trip to Taupo to visit his parents.
They headed to Taupo earlier than planned on Sunday to make sure they didn't get stuck on the Desert Rd, but didn't expect quite so much snow in the town.
Taupo couple Ngaire and Dan Wilks took their three children, Luke, 4, Rick, 2, and 1-week old Amelia to their section in Loch ViewsRd to slide on the snow.
The family didn't get snow at their house in Acacia Bay but decided to head to the building site when they woke up to snow on the hills.
Mrs Wilks said they were surprised just how much snow had fallen around their new house, which is partially built.
"We took photos from our new bedroom of the section covered in snow."
Taupo weatherman Walter de Bont said the last time he remembered snow falling in Taupo was in the mid-1990s. He said he was still a tour guide then and recalled driving on the snow to Orakei Korako Cave and Thermal Park.
Mr de Bont said the minimum temperature was 0.6C, the 8am temperature was 2C and it had reached 7C by about 12.30pm.
MetService is forecasting more cold weather for Taupo today with a minimum of -2C and a maximum of 8C with the weather getting slightly warmer tomorrow with a minimum of 5C and a maximum of 9C with some morning showers and rain at night. Temperatures are forecast to reach 11C or 12C over the rest of the week.
Rotorua weatherman Brian Holden said the minimum temperature yesterday was 1.4C, it was 2C at 8am and a maximum of 8.7C. Mr Holden said he was expecting it to be colder today.
MetService is forecasting a fine day with southwesterlies with a minimum of -1C and a maximum of 9C.
The temperature is expected to warm up tomorrow with a minimum of 5C and a maximum of 10C with fine spells and westerly winds. Maximum temperatures are expected to reach 12C or 13C in Rotorua over the rest of the week.
Turoa was closed yesterday due to poor weather conditions but had 12cm of snow fall in 24 hours while parts of Whakapapa were open with 6cm of snow falling in 24 hours.