Desert Rd is closed Friday morning. Photo / Waka Kotahi
Desert Rd is closed Friday morning. Photo / Waka Kotahi
Desert Rd in the Central North Island has reopened.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency closed the road at 11.10pm Thursday night and remained closed this morning due to snow and ice.
The road reopened around 7am.
Several highways in the area were closed on Thursday due to snow and crashes.
FINAL UPDATE 7:10AM The Desert Rd is now OPEN. Please take extra care when travelling through this area due to winter driving conditions. ^EH https://t.co/MLIfuMGEU4
— Waka Kotahi NZTA Central North Island (@WakaKotahiCNI) August 3, 2023
The Desert Rd, State Highway 47 National Park to Turangi, SH4 Tohunga Junction to Manunui, SH46 Tongariro to Rangipo and SH48 Bruce Rd at Whakapapa VIllage all closed early Thursday as temperatures plummeted in the region.
Snow also settled on top of Mount Tarawera.
Desert Rd dropped to -3.7C overnight and -2.4C in Waiouru while Rotorua and Taupō registered 0.8C each.
MetService meteorologist John Law said the next few days were looking fine, dry and relatively settled for the region.
“The winds have swung round to the southwest which is a great direction for keeping the Bay of Plenty dry.
Snow on Mount Tarawera on Thursday. Photo / Roz Anderson Photography
“However, clear skies and lighter winds will mean some more cold and frosty nights into the weekend,” he said.
MetService issued a fresh road snowfall warning for the Desert Rd this morning, in place from 7am to midday today.
“Snow showers are expected above about 500m metres at first but the level rises during the morning to 800m before the showers clear around midday.
“A further 1 to 3 cm of snow may accumulate above 800m with lesser amounts down to 600m.”
No stock losses expected thanks to ‘short storm’
Federated Farmers national board member Toby Williams told the Herald the only major concern they had in alpine regions such as central North Island in terms of snowfall and plummeting temperatures is if the snow hangs around for a number of days.
“Heavy snowfall covers all grass so stock have less opportunity to eat.
“If snow hangs around four to five days and it doesn’t melt, it is hard to feed animals but at this stage it looks like a short storm.”
Williams said in central North Island regions it was not uncommon to have snow each year.
“They are not lambing or calving so I don’t imagine any stock losses. It is just a matter of hunkering down and checking in on your stock, that they are fed and have water.”
Williams said farmers had been well-prepared ahead of time due to being proactive in keeping an eye on the forecast.
