Cold front brings snow, hail, thunderstorms to parts of NZ, frigid temps for Auckland

Monday, 30 September 2019

Snow is expected to fall as low as 400m on hills around the South Island. (File photo)

Another cold blast is on the way bringing chilly temperatures, rain, wind, thunderstorms and – for some – snow.

For those in Auckland, Tuesday is going to be a frigid day. Its max temperature is expected to reach just 14 degrees Celsius - that temperature hasn't been seen there in October since 2010.

'Basically, we're seeing a series of cold fronts move up over the country, so we're going to get rid of those warmer north north westerly winds, and that's replaced with a much colder south-to-south westerly flow,' Metservice meteorologist Peter Little said.

That will bring snow to reasonably low levels to the southern parts of New Zealand late Monday and Tuesday morning. That could be as low as 300 metres around Otago, Southland, and Fiordland, and will likely mean snow cover around the hills of Christchurch, Queenstown, and Dunedin.

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Overnight lows will drop down to just 8C in Auckland this week. On Tuesday, showery weather and possible thunderstorms and hail is forecast, with more showers expected throughout the week.

'Auckland is looking at some heavy falls. There's some rain some fairly strong northerly winds that should turn westerly. [Tuesday] is looking showery, and that could turn to hail too.'

Wellington has a high of 11C forecast for Tuesday, and an overnight low of 5C. Showers may turn into heavy rain later in the morning.

In Christchurch, hail and snow down to 400 metres is on the cards. The garden city has a high of just 11C, and a chilly overnight low of 2C. Showery patches can be expected throughout the week, and on Thursday, the overnight temperature will plummet to 0C.

'It's going to be pretty cold. That wind is going to be a lot cooler, temperatures a lot lower than people have had recently,' Little said. 'The cold front moves on to the North Island more in the overnight period, so its really [Tuesday] that the cold weather arrives.'

Those in Dunedin may also see some hail, southwesterly winds and the occasional fine spell on Tuesday, with a high of 11C and an overnight low of 6C. There will be cloudy patches and showers throughout most of the week.

Road snowfall warnings are in place for Milford Rd (SH4), Crown Range Rd, Lindis Pass (SH8), Porters Pass (SH73), Lewis Pass (SH7), Desert Rd (SH1) and Napier-Taupō Rd (SH5).

Some thunderstorms and showers were also possible to the south of Buller on Monday night.