Weather: Snow closes Desert Road, warnings in south
Photo:
RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
The North Island's Desert Road - State Highway 1 - is closed because of snow.
MetService has issued a road snowfall warning,saying up to three centimetres of snow could fall on the highest parts of the road before 11am Saturday.
"Snow may accumulate at times above 800 metres, with lesser amounts down to 600 metres," the forecaster said. "Snow showers may continue for the remainder of Saturday but accumulations on the road are not expected."
MetService predicted a cold, wet weekend for many parts of the country, with snow also expected for Marlborough, Canterbury, Otago and Southland.
At Lewis Pass in the South Island, snow was expected to affect higher parts of the road (SH7) on Friday night = one to two centimetres may accumulate above 700 metres.
And further south on Milford Road (SH94), up to a centimetre of snow was forecast above 900 metres.
No other severe weather warnings were in place.
Earlier this week, MetService meteorologist Kgolofelo Dube said "clearer skies" were expected over the weekend.
"However, this new system will also bring a significant drop in temperatures, with widespread frosts returning across much of the country.
"While settled weather is expected to round out the weekend for many, a few showers may linger in the eastern North Island, driven by cooler southerly winds. Alongside these southerlies, strong to gale-force winds and rough seas are forecast to affect the eastern coastline.
"MetService will continue monitoring the evolving situation and provide updates to warnings and watches as needed."
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