Snow settles on Mt Tarawera peaks as cold blast moves north

A stunning image of Mt Tarawera captured from Coastlands in the Bay of Plenty this morning. Photo / Roz Anderson Photography

Bay of Plenty residents have been greeted to the stunning sight of snow on Mt Tarawera this morning as a wintry blast moves up the country.

Snow has also fallen on Trafford's Hill, on the Ōpōtiki side of the Waioeka Gorge, in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

Mt Tarawera taken from Lake Tarawera this morning. Photo / Mead Norton

Much of the country woke to wintry temperatures this morning. In the North Island the coldest area was Taupō on 0C and in the South Island Twizel was down to -5C.

UPDATE 9:40AM - #SH5 between Taupo and Napier has now reopened. #SH1 (Desert Rd) remains closed. ^TP https://t.co/oS9rHcYFj6

— Waka Kotahi NZTA Waikato/BoP (@WakaKotahiWaiBP) September 5, 2022

State Highway 5 between Napier and Taupō was closed for much of the morning but reopened about 9.40am.

The Desert Rd remains closed.

Wayne Feisst captured images of the snow on Mt Tarawera this morning from Edgecumbe.

He said it was "a tad nippy" but the added wind was contributing to the low temperature.

Roz Anderson also captured a stunning photo of the mountain from Coastlands this morning.

Snow on Mt Tarawera this morning. Photo / Wayne Feisst

There is a strong wind watch for eastern parts of Bay of Plenty, Gisborne north of Ruatoria and southeastern parts of Taupō until 8am today.

Weather for the region looks settled for the rest of the week before returns on Saturday.

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Almost all of the country will start off Tuesday with a colder than average minimum temperature.

Northern parts of the North Island buck that trend, holding onto double digits. pic.twitter.com/oSzIEO9sgI

— MetService (@MetService) September 5, 2022