Winter bared its teeth last night blasting the central North Island and closing the Desert Road State Highway 1.

The MetService says the country saw its heaviest snowfall of the year so far, and it is unlikely to be the last.

Image: MetService.

A surge of cold air from the Antarctic racing up New Zealand last night brought snow to near sea level in the far south and to 200m on the West Coast.

Whakapapa reported 31cm, while Mt Cheeseman down south measured 23cm. Several roads were closed due to snow, including the Desert Road, the Haast Pass and the Milford Road.

The same cold, convective air spreading north also brought a handful of thunderstorms to southern parts of Auckland today, with several reports of hail.

By this afternoon the worst of the snow should be over the MetService says in a media statement, but higher parts of the South Island can expect a few more flurries during the week.

The heavy showers also return to the North Island by Monday evening, with a high risk of thunderstorms for Taranaki and a moderate risk for Auckland.

Tuesday and Wednesday appear to be the pick of the week for most people, when easing winds and clearer skies will provide great conditions to hit the recently refreshed ski slopes.

However overnight on Wednesday the first glimpses of the next weather system appear, a complex low from the Tasman set to bring strong northerly winds and rain for the end of the week.

Although the winds from the north will raise temperatures briefly, indications are that August will be slightly cooler than average – in contrast to the warm winter we've had so far – so the next snowfall may not be too far off.