A night of cold weather and snowfall caused chaos on roads in Whanganui and the surrounding regions.

According to MetService, temperatures dropped to as low as -3.7C on the Desert Road and -2.4C in Waiouru over Wednesday night.

Snowfall in the Ruapehu District caused multiple state highways to be closed.

State Highway 1 has been closed between Rangipou and Waiouru since 5.35pm on Wednesday due to snowfall, according to Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency.

Waka Kotahi also reported State Highway 4 between Tohunga Junction and Manunui was closed from 3.30am Thursday due to a truck crash and State Highway 47 between National Park and Turangi was closed from 5.35am due to a truck rolling over.

State Highway 46 between Tongariro and Rangipou was closed at 7.19am due to snowfall.

As of 11.50am Thursday, SH4 was reopened, with the potential for delays due to ongoing efforts to recover the truck.

SH47, SH46 and SH1 all remain closed as of 2pm Thursday.

Rangitīkei District Council reported Taihape-Napier Rd was closed due to snowfall around 12.20pm Thursday.

Whanganui District Council said Kauarapaoa Rd was closed south of the Mayo Farm due to a slip.

The council expectsto have the road reopened by late Friday; in the meantime, access to the north end of the road is available via Rangitatau Rd.

There were also reports of snow falling in Kai Iwi and the back blocks of Waverley.

More to come.

Finn Williams is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. He joined the Chronicle in early 2022 and regularly covers stories about business, events and emergencies. He also enjoys writing opinion columns on whatever interests him.