The cold snap that is inching up the country has closed roads in Dunedin and made life difficult for motorists around the South, and few areas of the country are likely to escape snow, forecasters say.
Snow was expected for most of the South Island and to low levels around the eastern and central North Island until tomorrow night, the MetService said today.
The bitterly cold blast has brought warnings for travellers and for farmers to get stock to shelter. Queenstown Airport is closed, with all flights in and out either cancelled, diverted or delayed.
In Dunedin, the Northern Motorway, Castlewood Rd, Highcliff Rd, Three Mile Hill and Mt Cargill are closed, the DCC reports, while warnings are in place on stretches of road around Otago and Southland.
State Highway 87 from Outram to Middlemarch is closed, SH85 from Palmerston to Kyeburn is closed, as is SH94 from the Lower Hollyford turnoff to Milford Sound.
SH8 from Beaumont to Milton has reopened for essential travel only.
SH6 from Queenstown to Kingston, and from Kingston to Five Rivers is closed, while from Five Rivers to Dipton towing restrictions are in place.
Towing restrictions are also in place on SH93 Clinton to Mataura and SH94 between Milford and Mossburn.
Police asked motorists to slow down and the drive to the weather conditions in Central Otago and Southland.
The freezing conditions caused havoc on roads in the South Island today, with many closed or passable only with chains.
Invercargill police reported attending eight car crashes between 12pm and 2pm, caused by drivers travelling too fast for the conditions.
Senior Sergeant Dave Raynes, of Invercargill police, said many cars had left the road because of severe ice on State Highway 6, between Josephville Hill south of Lumsden through to Kingston, 48km south of Queenstown.
Further north, Hawke's Bay, Gisborne, Waikato, Waitomo, Taumarunui, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and Taupo should expect snow to 300m overnight.
Residents in the lower half of the North Island also need to rug up, with snow falling to 200m, the MetService said.
The first surge of cold air has moved over much of the South Island already but the coldest polar air was yet to reach Christchurch and with it heavier snow to lower levels, WeatherWatch.co.nz head analyst Phillip Duncan said.
"This isn't the snow storm of the century...but what makes this system different from previous cold blasts is the low snow level, which is sea level across much of southern and eastern South Island and to very low levels right across the lower North Island. This is a national event," he said.
Snow flurries expected around Auckland tomorrow, and snow could fall on the Hunua Ranges, south of Auckland and on the peaks of the Waitakere Ranges. Any snow which fell on the Waitakeres was expected to quickly melt.
"Our focus is mostly on the rareness of snow falling to such low levels rather than predicting heavy snow for the main centres," Mr Duncan said.
Snow accumulations are likely to affect many roads and passes, these include most of those passing through the central North Island, the Napier to Taupo Road, the Gisborne to Opotiki Road, the Rimutaka Hill Road, the Lewis Pass, Arthur's Pass, Porters Pass, the Lindis Pass and Milford Road.
