Severe weather warnings for some parts of New Zealand have been lifted this morning as the country prepares for a wild weekend of rain, wind and swells.
MetService said this morning severe gales for central and southern parts of the country have now eased and all warnings and watches in those areas are lifted.
A heavy rain watch for western Nelson is also no longer in force.
However, MetService told 1 NEWS it was "the calm before the storm" in the South Island with this morning's sunshine expected to become much colder this afternoon before a big snow day tomorrow.
Snow and bad weather have caused issues for some roads already though, with State Highway 7 from Hanmer Turnoff to Springs Junction (Lewis Pass), State Highway 7 from Reefton to Springs Junction and State Highway 94 from Te Anau to Milford all closed.
A snow warning had been placed on Desert Road but this has been lifted this morning as well.
This afternoon's predicted temperature drop is due to another cold front preceded by gale northwesterlies and followed by colder southwesterlies, which is forecast to move north across the South Island later today and the North Island on Sunday bringing snow to low levels.
The Remarkables, Mt Hutt and Cardrona are all open this morning after some heavy snowfall. The Remarkables had 35cm amd Cardrona had 12cm in the past 24 hours, while Mt Hutt has picked up 40cm in the past 48 hours.
Further up the country, Fire and Emergency told 1 NEWS they've had one weather-related call out this morning so far after a tree fell across a road in Helensville, north of Auckland.
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