That chill in the air, it’s snow

Wrap up Kiwis — a polar blast is on its way.

Heavy snow has been forecast for both islands this week, with WeatherWatch head analyst Philip Duncan saying the falls are likely to lead to plenty of road closures.

The cold blast has already started down south, where temperatures dropped to -13 overnight Friday in Lake Tekapo.

Snow and icy blasts were expected to head up the country from Wednesday. The white stuff will come from a deep low a few thousand kilometres south of the South Island. On Tuesday it will send a burst of moisture and cold air from over the Southern Ocean into the South Island.

“This will push snow to very low levels in the lower half of the South Island and produce widespread heavy snow above 200m.”

It will spread into the North Island on Wednesday and Thursday.

“This rain will be fed in via an easterly quarter flow, placing the Hawke’s Bay ranges and Central Plateau areas at risk of heavy snow for a couple of days where the southerly meets,” said Duncan.

Dunedin, Gore, Alexandra, Queenstown, Cromwell, Arrowtown, Wanaka and possibly Ashburton may get snow on Tuesday.

In the North Island, Waiouru, Ohakune and Taihape are highly likely to get snow, along with National Park.

State Highway 2 over the Rimutaka Ranges is likely to be affected, potentially on Wednesday night.

Snow is highly likely on the Desert Road, along with all highways around Mt Ruapehu.

SH5 from Napier to Taupo will also likely be hit on Wednesday or Thursday.

Temperatures in Auckland will be chilliest mid-week with overnight lows of 5C.