Ice causes crashes on Napier-Taupō Rd as heavy rain and strong winds set to lash parts of NZ
Motorists are being urged to take extra care on State Highway 5 in the central North Island after icy conditions caused two crashes.
It comes as forecasters warn of a “turbulent” start to the school holidays with a wet and windy front pushing over the country, with a low-pressure system in tow.
Police said the worst of the ice this morning was between the Summit and Te Haroto on the Napier-Taupō Rd, where officers and road contractors were responding.
No injuries have been reported, but there are delays on the roads.
Drivers are being urged to slow down, increase following distances and drive to the conditions while the icy stretch remains hazardous.
MetService meteorologist Devlin Lynden told the Herald a front was approaching New Zealand from the west of the South Island and was already bringing heavy rain and strong winds.
He said the weather change was likely to reach the North Island by tonight.
All eyes are on the West Coast of the South Island, with severe weather alerts in place for several regions.
“For the North Island, the [rain] accumulations won’t be too high, generally speaking. Bay of Plenty may see some larger accumulations,” Lynden said.
He said it was “quite a warm feature”, so MetService was expecting temperatures to be a “bit higher than normal”.
Once the front passes through on Sunday, there will be a return to wintry temperatures.
Severe weather watches and warnings
An orange heavy rain warning is in place for the ranges of Westland from 3am today until 11pm Sunday, with 200-250mm of rain expected and possible thunderstorms.
The headwaters of the Canterbury lakes and rivers south of Arthur’s Pass, the headwaters of the Otago lakes and rivers and Fiordland and north of Doubtful Sound are under the same warning.
An orange strong wind warning is in place for the Canterbury high country from 9am to 9pm, with 160–210mm of rain expected about the Main Divide and 110–160mm further east. Freezing levels will be about 2200m.
A heavy rain watch for Fiordland south of Doubtful Sound has been issued until 1pm.
According to MetService’s severe weather outlook for Sunday, there is low confidence of heavy snow down to low levels, which would affect South Island alpine areas and road passes.
MetService meteorologist Braydon White said snow on the passes coinciding with the start of the school holidays meant there was a great opportunity to take the kids for a “wonderful snow day”.
However, Kiwis are being warned to keep an eye out for any road snowfall warnings, which may be issued from Sunday.
Prolonged rain into next week
Lynden said the front was expected to pass quite quickly on the weekend but it will be followed by an “interesting low feature that spins up behind it”.
“We can expect some turbulent weather through the first half of next week,” he said.
Looking towards Monday and Tuesday, he said the top of the South Island, the East Coast, Marlborough and potentially northern Canterbury could be in for “a prolonged period” of severe weather.
“There’s also some risk of the lower North Island being in for a prolonged period of rain, and Wairarapa, which is particularly sensitive at the moment given they recently had a period of heavy rain,” Lynden said.