Weather set to improve – except for Wellington
WELLINGTON will miss the sunshine set to greet much of New Zealand today – more rain and even colder weather will plague the capital through to tomorrow.
A freezing southerly blast hit much of the country over the weekend, bringing heavy snow falls and hail as far north as Auckland.
Icy conditions may have caused a serious crash just before midnight on Saturday north of Dunedin.
Five people were injured on Waikouaiti-Waitati Rd, Evansdale, when two cars collided, sending one vehicle sliding down a bank. The most seriously hurt, a man with hip and leg injuries, was flown to Dunedin Hospital in a rescue helicopter, while the four others were taken via ambulance with minor to moderate injuries.
Forty motorists became trapped in the snow at Lewis Pass, between Canterbury and the West Coast, on Friday night and were sheltered by local residents. Their route onwards, State Highway 7, was closed between Springs Junction and the Hanmer Springs until midday Saturday.
Roads closed at various times over the weekend included the Desert Road, Rimutaka Hill Road, and State Highway 93 between Clinton to Mataura.
Sunshine should bring relief to northern and western parts of both islands early this week, MetService meteorologist Stephen Glassey said. A ridge of high pressure building in the deep south today would also bring fine and frosty conditions to the lower South Island.
‘‘Showers with hail and snow to low levels have affected many places this weekend, but most of the showers will become confined to the eastern and southern parts of the North Island by Tuesday,’’ Glassey said.
Temperatures would remain cold, however – Alexandra could expect lows of -6 degrees overnight tonight and tomorrow.
Closer to home, Wellington was looking at a colder day today than yesterday, with a high of 7C forecast, and southerly showers continuing. The capital had a high of 8.7C at the airport yesterday.
‘‘There’s a pool of cold air sitting aloft over a large part of the North Island. It will be another showery day, possibly with some snow on the Rimutaka hill,’’ MetService meteorologist Claire Flynn said.
The weather would begin to improve tomorrow and Wednesday, before a northerly front from the Tasman hit on Thursday, bringing more rain, Flynn said.
The only consolation would be warmer temperatures, with a high of 13C and a low of 8C forecast for Wellington on Thursday.