It's a cooler start for most of the country, with some snowfall warnings in place for lower South Island roads

Milford Road has as much as four centimetres settling on the road near the tunnel, with heavier snow showers to slightly lower levels expected overnight down to 700 metres.

The Crown Range Road has also seen up to two centimetres above 900 metres overnight, starting at 5pm.

MetService Meteorologist Kieran Doolan says a cold front is moving through.

He says it's looking like single digits for all of the southern and central parts of the country.