Live weather: Drivers warned as snow blankets roads, Cook Strait ferries cancelled

Latest from MetService as cold blast hits country

Follow our liveblog above for the latest.

Plunging temperatures have arrived overnight for much of the country - but the worst is still to come.

State Highway 87 between Outram and Middlemarch in Otago was closed by snow on Monday night.

Meanwhile, SH1 is closed in Dunedin from Pine Hill Road to Leith Valley Road due to heavy snow.

And SH75 - the road between Christchurch and Akaroa - is shut between Tai Tapu and Duvauchelle.

Follow our liveblog at the top of this page for the latest.