Let it snow! Spring snowflakes on their way

Possible snow for the central North Island overnight could be good news for those heading to Whakapapa Ski Field during the school holidays. Photo / Alex Robertson

Spring is here, the nights are lighter - but snow will still dust the Central North Island overnight, plunging those areas back into near-zero-degree figures.

The white gold will cover State Highway 1, the Desert Rd near the summit from 8pm and continue to fall to 700 metres overnight with between 5cm and 10cm of snow expected to settle on the road.

There is also a road snowfall warning in place for the State Highway 5, the Napier-Taupō Rd between 5am and 3pm tomorrow, with up to 2cm of snow likely to settle on the road near the summit.

Showers are expected to fall before turning into snow.

MetService shift meteorologist Lewis Ferris said the cold front over the weekend had brought in a good area of very cold air resulting in below-average temperatures in areas including Hamilton dropping to 1.4C and Taumarunui 0.1C today. The Central Plateau hit negative figures.

Residents should expect similar cold starts tomorrow too.

While snow is expected to fall on Desert Rd and the Napier-Taupō Rd, tonight and tomorrow, it was unlikely to reach towns such as Ohakune.

But the snowfall in the central plateau will be good news for those planning to head to Mt Ruapehu during the school holidays from next week as those areas are expecting a dumping.

Mt Ruapehu is forecasting snow on Turoa on Tuesday and for both Turoa and Whakapapa on Wednesday.

Ferris said showers would continue later into the week, with temperatures warming up and fine weather expected at the weekend.

"If Ruapehu gets some snow, it looks like it will be kind of windy over the next couple of days, but for those who can make it into the weekend they might actually be in for a good day come Saturday."

It was not unusual for snow to fall in September in the central plateau because there were swings in weather systems during the shoulder season.

"It turns out that as soon as they see the lambs turning up in the south and daffodils making their way or flowering, is when we seem to get the snow turning up."

Meanwhile, there are also heavy rain watches in places for Wairarapa, Tararua and the eastern hills of Wellington today. A heavy wind warning is also in place in Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa between 1pm and 11pm tomorrow and for Mahia Peninsular from 7pm tomorrow until 1am overnight.