A chilly start to Wednesday morning in Wellington has seen an Air New Zealand flight delayed due to ice as a polar blast hits New Zealand.
MetService said a cold front is moving north over the South Island on Wednesday and into Thursday morning, bringing snow to low levels, especially in the south and east.
MetService's website showed it was a chilly 3 degrees at 7am in the Capital.
The chilly conditions saw a 6am Air New Zealand flight out of Wellington Airport bound for Auckland (NZ402) delayed by 15 minutes because of ice on the place.
An Air New Zealand spokesperson told Newshub the flight was delayed because the aircraft needed to be 'de-iced'.
"We understand the de-icing machine wasn't working so that caused the delay, the spokesperson said.
"It was fixed, de-iced and the flight took off a little later than planned but is on its way to Auckland."
The spokesperson said de-icing isn't unusual for airports like Queenstown but said it's a bit uncommon for Wellington.
No other flights have been affected at this point on Wednesday morning at Wellington Airport.
It could be a long morning for commuters in the Capital, with Metlink saying Kāpiti and Johnsonville train services are affected due to ice.
Metlink said trains are cancelled between Porirua and Wellington and Johnsonville and Wellington, with limited busses running.
Metlink said there will be a shuttle running between Porirua and Waikanae but will not be running to timetable.
"We recommend other transport where possible," Metlink said.
Temperatures around the country plunged on Wednesday morning with Metservice's website showing Eastern Rangitaiki, near Taupō, was the coldest place in New Zealand at 7am, dropping to a bone-rattling -6.2 degrees.
The mercury also sunk in Christchurch with a temperature of -3C, while Blenheim hit -2C, Queenstown -1C and Timaru 0C.
In the North Island, temperatures plunged in Masterton to -2C, Hamilton -0.1C, Rotorua 1C, and Wellington 3C while Auckland was the warmest place in the country with a temperature of 9.6C.
Weather warnings and watches
An orange heavy snow warning has been issued for inland Canterbury about and north of Arthur's Pass, Marlborough south of Ward and Nelson Lakes National Park from 6pm on Wednesday to 11am on Thursday.
MetService said these areas should expect 15 to 25cm of snow above 400 metres.
"Heavy snow may disrupt travel in affected areas and could damage trees and powerlines. Cold conditions may cause stress for livestock," MetService said.
Heavy snow is also on the way for the West Coast, central and southern parts of the South Island with a watch in place.
A heavy snow watch has been issued for Buller, western parts of Tasman, Inland Canterbury south of Arthur's Pass, Otago, Queenstown, Mosgiel, Fiordland and Southland.
MetService said snow is expected down to 200 or 300m with heavy falls above 400m.
A road snowfall warning is in place for some of the South Island's most iconic roads.
The warning is in place for Lewis Pass (SH7), Arthur's Pass (SH73), Porter's Pass (SH73), Haast Pass (SH6), Lindis Pass (SH8), Milford Road (SH94) and Dunedin to Waitati Highway (SH1).
