Weather watch in place

While heavy rain warnings have been lifted for the Bay of Plenty, east of Te Puke - a severe weather watch is in place for Western Bay of Plenty and Rotorua.

Photo: file.

MetService says a deep low that brought a period of heavy rain to northern New Zealand yesterday and this morning has moved away to the southeast of the country and the heavy rain has eased.

The severe weather warning has also been lifted for Coromandel Peninsula.

However, MetService has put in place a severe weather watch for Western Bay of Plenty during Monday, with a possibility of severe southwest gales.

A snowfall warning has also been issued for the Desert Road. Snow showers are expected to develop around midnight Sunday, then ease Monday morning. Between midnight Sunday and 9am Monday, five to 10cm may accumulate near the summit with lesser amounts down to 600 metres.

Looking ahead, a very cold southwest flow spreads over the country today and Monday morning.

Snow will likely lower to sea level about the lower South Island this afternoon, with significant accumulations above 200 metres for parts of Fiordland, Southland and Otago.

The heaviest snow is expected Sunday evening and Monday morning. As the cold air and showers spread northwards Monday morning, Banks Peninsula is also expected to receive a significant amount of snow above 300 metres.

Heavy snow in these regions is likely to cause major disruption to traffic and make driving conditions hazardous.

Farmers are advised that stock may need shelter from the extreme cold and snow.

In addition, severe southwest gales gusting 120 km/h are expected about coastal parts of Otago and Banks Peninsula from this evening through to Tuesday morning. Winds of this strength could topple trees, damage power lines and unsecured structures.

Coupled with the expected snow in these areas, the blizzard like conditions will make travel difficult.

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