The grounds were left white after a wintry hail storm swept across the Coromandel yesterday afternoon.

Photos sent to SunLive from Taupo local Danni Evans shows the Thames Coast Road near Wilson Bay looking more like a snowy wonderland last night, at about 6pm.

The Thames Coast Road near Wilsons Bay at about 6pm on Sunday. Photo: Danni Evans

'It was over my shoes when I got out and walked around so it was maybe around 5cm deep,” says Danni.

Meteorologist Stephen Glassey says a pool of cold air formed in the upper atmosphere on Sunday, which moved over the North Island and helped bring the hail storm.

'It came across Waikato and over the Kaimai Range into western parts of the Bay of Plenty,” says Stephen.

'They're usually fairly localised and only really effect small areas at a time.

'I imagine where the hail fell was probably the first time it's happened for a while.”

Temperatures reached about 13 degrees in the upper atmosphere, dropping to roughly eight degrees between 6pm-8pm.

The forecast for today is a mixture of fine spells with some isolated showers, with moderate southerly winds.

While it isn't the coldest winter so far, it is one of the frostiest.

'We've had lots of southerly outbreaks come through this year so it has been one of the coldest we've had in the recent years,” says Stephen.

Thames Coast Road near Wilsons Bay. Photo: Danni Evans

Waihi. Photo: Juliet Long

Waihi. Photo: Juliet Long

Waihi. Photo: Ashleigh Heal

Karangahake Gorge.