A slow-moving front over the south of the South Island is bringing “significant” snow to Queenstown Lakes, Southland and inland Otago, as well as heavy rain.
The latest forecast came after a heavy dump of snow in the South Island on Friday caused power outages, shut schools and closed roads.
A heavy snow warning is in place until 10pm Sunday for the Queenstown Lakes District south of Wanaka and for Southland north of Mossburn and west of Athol.
MetService said to expect 12-18cm of snow to accumulate above 400 metres, warning that further snow was expected on Monday night and into Tuesday.
Heavy snow was also expected until 5am Monday in Southland, north of Lumsden and from Athol eastwards, as well as inland Otago excluding the Queenstown Lakes District.
In those areas, people could expect 10-20 cm of snow to settle above 400 metres, with lesser amounts down to 300 metres.
The snow could disrupt travel and damage trees and powerlines, and cold conditions may cause stress for livestock, it said.
MetService warned people to prepare for snow, cold temperatures, and possible power outages.
“If you must travel, drive cautiously, and ensure you have snow chains, sleeping bags, warm clothing, and emergency items.”
A number of major routes through alpine passes have road snowfall warnings in place:
- Haast Pass (SH6) to 10pm Sunday; 2-8cm snow may accumulate at summit
- Lindis Pass (SH8) to 11pm Sunday; 8-15cm snow may accumulate above 700m, with lesser amounts down to 400m.
- Crown Range Road to midnight Sunday, where another 10-15cm of snow may accumulate above 500m, with lesser amounts lower down.
- Milford Road (SH94) to 8pm Sunday; another 6-10cm of snow may accumulate above 600m on top of what has already fallen, with lesser amounts lower down.
- Dunedin to Waitati Highway (SH1) to 4am Monday; rain is expected to turn to snow overnight with 1-3cm possibly accumulating about the road above 300m with lesser amounts down to 200m.
Good news for ski fields
Queenstown skiers, however, had been enjoying the latest blast of spring snow.
Ski area manager for The Remarkables Steve Hall said there were more than 1000 people on the skifield on Sunday and the numbers were even higher on Saturday.
The snow was falling straight down, with light winds, which is ideal, he said.
The snow base there was currently between 55 and 220 centimetres.
Thunderstorms ahead for Northland
Meanwhile, MetService said there was a high risk of thunderstorms for Northland on Monday afternoon.
Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula might also see thunder and lightning at the start of the week.
There was a low risk the storms would be severe and accompanied by damaging tornadoes, and a watch for severe thunderstorms could be issued for those areas on Monday, MetService said.
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