Parts of the country are set to be slammed by gale force winds on Monday and Tuesday, as a low-pressure system rapidly deepens to the south of the country.
Temperatures for all places south of Auckland will be several degrees colder than normal, due to cold air surges from the south, according to Weather Watch, with heavy snow in the Southern Alps expected for the first time in 2020.
MetService has strong wind watches in place for the Wairarapa north of Martinborough and Hawke's Bay south of Hastings.
In the South Island, a strong wind watch is in place in Coastal Otago south of Palmerston.
There are road snowfall warnings around Lewis Pass, Arthur's Pass and Lindis Pass, as showers are expected to turn to snow later this afternoon. Further south, the Crown Range Road and Milford Road also have road snowfall warnings.
According to NIWA, the wind gusts will increase on Monday afternoon in the upper North Island and "remain elevated" through much of Tuesday.
Tuesday is set to be even colder than Monday for most places, though the wild weather is set to gradually ease, with a cold front moving north-eastwards over the South Island on Wednesday.
"The warmer than average run of weather we had over Easter Weekend is now over for much of NZ, but some parts of Northland and Auckland along with the eastern coastal fringe of the North Island down to Hawke’s Bay will be mild for Monday," according to Weather Watch.
By Thursday, the North Island is set to feel the chill of the cold front and any essential services working around the ocean are warned to take care.
"NZ beaches will be more dangerous earlier this week with larger waves coming further up the beach thanks to both lower air pressure and gales at sea," according to Weather Watch. "Seas will be highly dangerous in some locations for any essential services."
