They call this Spring?

A band of heavy rain lies slow moving over the far north overnight Friday. A cold front sweeps up the South Island during Saturday and the North Island on Sunday. This front is preceded by strong to gale northwesterlies and is followed by wintry southwesterlies, which may rise to severe gale about some eastern areas on Sunday.

Snow is likely to sea level over the lower South Island late Saturday and during Sunday, when the combination of strong southwesterly wind and snow showers are likely to bring blizzard conditions,putting vulnerable livestock at risk.

This snow will also affect transport over the weekend, especially lower South Island roads and higher level roads over central New Zealand.