Snow left hundreds of passengers stranded at Queenstown Airport yesterday and roads throughout the region were closed last night, but forecasters warn the worst is yet to come.
"The main message is that this is a prolonged situation. It's going to keep snowing and the winds are going to get stronger and colder," MetService forecaster Rachel Kirkman said yesterday.
The expected storm dropped temperatures yesterday to around 0degC and created wind-chill conditions of -16degC in Otago as snow fell to sea level along the east coast and flurries were reported inland, especially in Queenstown where snow closed the airport.
"There will be blizzard-like conditions in a lot of places with strong winds and snow," Ms Kirkman said.
She predicted many places along the east coast of the South Island would wake today to snow on the ground with overnight temperatures expected to drop to -2degC in Queenstown and -2degC in Dunedin. Temperatures were not expected to rise much today, with strong southerlies creating severe windchill conditions and bringing snow again to sea level with 20cm-40cm falling above 200m - about Wakari level in Dunedin.
"This is just the beginning. There will be heavy showers then fine breaks. It's the nature of this kind of flow but it'll keep coming until Thursday."
While snow fell in Queenstown, none settled on the ground, but the inclement weather was enough to cause chaos at Queenstown Airport. Just one Qantas flight to Sydney got out of the resort, at 4pm, with all flights between 10.35am and 5.40pm cancelled.
Incoming flights were also affected. Jetstar services from Auckland and Melbourne were diverted, while a Pacific Blue flight from Brisbane and Air New Zealand services from Brisbane, Auckland, Rotorua/Christchurch were cancelled. One Air New Zealand and one Pacific Blue flight from Sydney landed about 3pm. Passengers wanting to get to Christchurch and further afield were bussed by Jetstar to Christchurch late yesterday afternoon.
Queenstown visitors Alexis Frood, of Auckland, with Lincoln Waine, Cameron McNicol and Haidee Riddick, all of Hamilton, were among the scores of Jetstar passengers queuing for the two coaches chartered by the airline from Queenstown Airport to Christchurch.
They said they were due to fly direct from Queenstown to Auckland airport at 1.30pm, after arriving on Tuesday.
"We came at 10am as we saw the weather and thought we'd better get here early," Miss Frood said. "Then at 11.30am the flight was cancelled."
The group and fellow passengers were taken by coach and were due to arrive in Christchurch about 11pm.
Snow also forced the cancellation of the final six flights of the day in and out of Dunedin yesterday.
Air New Zealand communications manager Tracey Palmer said about 1000 Air New Zealand passengers were affected. The airline was planning to operate as scheduled today, weather permitting, and would look at "adding more capacity during the day if required".
In Dunedin yesterday, snow, sleet and hail fell in showers with about 10cm accumulating in the hill suburbs by late afternoon.
The blizzard-like conditions led police to last night advise people to stay off the roads and only travel if "absolutely necessary".
Difficult driving conditions, including snow blanketing parts of the city, resulted in many minor accidents and drivers choosing to abandon their cars rather than risk further travel.
A St John spokeswoman said staff attended dozens of minor callouts from "people slipping and sliding everywhere".
The Dunedin City Council had closed Highcliff Road, Mount Cargill, and Three Mile Hill Rd.
State Highway 1 ( Palmerston to Dunedin and Waihola to McNab), SH8 Omarama to Tarras and Alexandra to Roxburgh, SH93 Clinton to Mataura, SH85 Kyeburn to Palmerston, SH87 Outram to Kyeburn were also closed. Other state highways in the South have restrictions.
Last night Sergeant Ed Baker, of Dunedin, said the conditions caused havoc for motorists "with people stuck all over the place".
Roading contractors were used to help motorists stuck on closed routes north and south of Dunedin, he said.
The Southern District Health Board was urging people likely to need urgent health care, such as maternity services, not to leave it too late to travel and to listen to the radio for updates on elective surgery or outpatient appointments.
In Queenstown, the snow did not settle on roads but a planned Winter Games NZ awards ceremony for yesterday's cross-country sprint racing was postponed and would now be held tomorrow afternoon.
Chains were required at the summit of the Crown Range, and needed to be carried on the Lindis Pass and on of the Coronet Peak Rd.
Both Coronet Peak and the Remarkables were open, receiving 5cm of new snow and 2cm respectively.
Alexandra had intermittent snow flurries which became heavier and began to settle late afternoon, dropping the temperature to 0degC at 4.30pm, with more snow in outlying areas.
