Much of the country is in for more cold winds and rain, and snow is forecast for central parts of both islands.

The bottom of the South Island was expected to be hardest hit, with MetService forecasting snow to 500m and gusts to 120km/h.

Snow is also forecast for the Desert Road in the Central North Island.

A snowfall warning is currently in place for the area. The MetService is forecasting that in the 11 hours from 6pm Thursday to 5am Friday, snow showers are expected to develop above 600 metres.

From Thursday evening until early Friday morning, 3 to 6 cm of snow may accumulate above 800 metres.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency reports that the highway remains closed this morning.

"The Desert Rd remains closed between Waiouru and Rangipo. Northbound traffic please detour via SH49, SH4, SH47, SH46 and then back onto SH1. Reverse for southbound. Please note this detour will add at least 40 minutes to your trip," says a recent post on Twitter.

Meanwhile, the MetService says areas likely to have least rain on Thursday were Bay of Plenty, Marlborough, Canterbury and North Otago, but it will be cold, with MetService forecasting snow to 600m in those South Island regions.

For the central and upper North Island, apart from Bay of Plenty, showers are expected to become more frequent on Thursday morning.

Auckland is forecast to have an overnight low of 6C and a high of 14C, while Hamilton is forecast to drop to -1C early Thursday before staggering up to just 12C.

In the North Island, from Taihape south, MetService is forecasting snow to 700m on Thursday. Showers could be heavy, and gusts could get to 90kph in southern Wairarapa and Wellington.

In Wellington, the temperature is expected to get down to 4C overnight, then rise to 13C during Thursday. An early Thursday low of -2C is forecast for Masterton, rising to 13C.

Christchurch was expected to be dry during Thursday, with showers returning in the evening. Westerlies are expected to turn strong southwesterly in the afternoon, with gusts to 120km/h about Banks Peninsula.

Gale westerlies are forecast in eastern parts of Otago and Southland. Gusts could get to 120km/h in Dunedin and North Otago through much of Thursday, while in Clutha and Southland south of Lumsden gusts could get to 120km/h through to noon Thursday.

Snow is possible overnight and into at least early Thursday for Lewis Pass, Arthur’s Pass, Lindis Pass, Crown Range Road and Milford Road.

-Michael Daly/Stuff.