Hundreds of people have been stranded in the Gisborne region and thousands district-wide were without power in the early hours as snow closed off the area from the rest of New Zealand.
The wintry blast has made its way up the country, bringing with it snow to areas not usually hit in winter, including Gisborne and hill suburbs in Wellington, and shutting off major highways in parts of the North Island.
The cold snap was expected to die down for most parts of the country at the weekend, bringing more settled conditions. However, forecasters expected black ice to be a traffic hazard on rural roads.
In Gisborne, people awoke to a white blanket of snow all over the region today, even the coastal areas of Whangara and Tolaga Bay.
Eastland Network was working toward getting power to almost 1000 homes, businesses and farms across the district without power. With roads across the district closed, linesmen would have to be airlifted by helicopter to fix the problems.
Eastland Network general manager Brent Stewart said snow and lightning last night and this morning resulted in a number of outages across Gisborne, Wairoa and the East Coast.
A severe weather warning remains in place for the hill country between Gisborne and Mohaka in northern Hawke's Bay.
The last time Gisborne saw snow was in September 1964, when snow even settled on Kaiti Hill. The biggest and most widespread dump before 1964 was July 1939 when pictures showed thick snow on the roadside in Gladstone Rd.
Both the main routes north and south (SH2) were closed overnight, leaving people stranded in Gisborne, Wairoa, Matawai and Tiniroto.
Colin Campbell at the Tiniroto Tavern said he had the busiest night for a long time, with about a dozen of the 50 people stranded staying at the pub.
"It was good as gold. We gave them a good feed last night and had a big sing-along."
Winter wonderland
Deer farmers Lawrence and Liz Rau, who live a kilometre out of Matawai, have taken in family friend Tracey Powdrell, her mother and three children, whose trip between Wairoa and Whakatane had to be aborted yeserday.
Mrs Rau said her farm was "absolutely covered" in snow.
"Within half an hour there was a good covering everywhere. It's a good foot deep on the lawn, very powdery. It's not at all slushy - perfect for skiing.
"Except for a tree, it's white as far as you can see. It's a bit of a wonderland out there. It's magic."
The Raus have lived on their Matawai farm for 38 years and have seen it like this twice before - 11 years ago about 40 power poles were knocked down by the weight of the snow.
Civil Defence emergency manager Louise Bennett reminded people to delay travel plans and check the transport agency website for updates.
"Please don't be tempted to take the kids out to the country to play in the snow. Remember that all the roads are currently closed. Contractors are working hard to get the roads open."
State Highways affected
State Highway 2 Waioeka Gorge to Whakarau Road, Gisborne, remained closed this afternoon.
Other snow-hit main roads throughout the North Island have since reopened, including the Desert Road.
SH4, the alternative route through the central North Island, remains closed after flood damage last month.
The Rimutaka Hill Road linking Wellington and Wairarapa is open, but drivers are urged to take care.
For more on road condition, see NZTA's website
In the South Island, all major higways are open, though caution is required and people should drive to the conditions.
- Hawke's Bay Today and NZME. News Service
