Jody here with the latest mountain report. Tūroa's ski area is closed today, and the road up is also closed, at the 13km mark due to snow. There's good reason for it though — a fantastic 40 centimetres of fresh snow has fallen in the last 24 hours. Lifts are all closed for now, but staff are planning to bring the Parklane Chairlift and a couple of learner lifts online for the weekend, with Movenpick to follow.

Over at Whakapapa, Bruce Road is open. The Sky Waka Gondola is running between 9am and 4pm, with last ride up at 3:30pm, and a couple of other lifts are also operating. Wind at the top is light. Car parks reached capacity yesterday, so give yourself extra time and consider booking online.

For the wider national park today, expect increasing fine spells with the freezing level around 1300 metres, though it'll be windy up high, with southeasterlies gusting near 45 km/h at 2000 metres.