Weather: Road snowfall warning for Central Plateau and Napier-Taupō highway

A main North Island route is expected to be hit with more than a day’s worth of snow as a cold front creeps up the country.

There is a 25-hour road snowfall warning in place for the Desert Rd which was closed earlier Thursday but has since reopened.

MetService said a few snow flurries may affect the road till early afternoon today. From around 2pm to 7pm, 4 to 6 cm of snow may accumulate on the road.

FINAL UPDATE: 11:10AM

SH1 Desert Rd has REOPENED following a prior closure due to snow. ^JP https://t.co/GDNM4SLbTA

— Waka Kotahi NZTA Central North Island (@WakaKotahiCNI) August 9, 2023

Snow flurries may continue till about mid-morning Friday, bringing a further 2 to 4 cm of snow.

A road snowfall warning is also in place for the Napier-Taupō Rd between 4pm and 10pm today.

In the North Island, the Central Plateau had an overnight low of –3.3C and Taupō's overnight low on Friday will be –2C

MetService said there was a low probability of thunderstorms throughout Bay of Plenty and Coromandel Peninsula today.

The temperature in Rotorua and Taupō was expected to get down to -1C overnight Wednesday with some heavy showers expected today.

https://t.co/pTkBcA52pU

— WeatherWatch.co.nz (@WeatherWatchNZ) August 9, 2023