The winter storm that wreaked havoc in the lower South Island has moved north, causing flooding in many areas, power cuts in Canterbury and wild winds in Wellington that washed a boat on to rocks.
The storm brought snow and heavy rain to many parts of the deep South and many roads in the region remain affected in its wake.
However, meteorologists said residents from the Nelson ranges through to Taranaki and Gisborne were advised to batten down the hatches.
The cold, wet and windy weather hit Wellington in the afternoon, bringing with it heavy rain and winds of up to 130kmh.
A severe weather warning was in place for the capital, and the Horowhenua Kapiti Coast. Heavy northwesterly rain was expected until tomorrow, MetService said.
Until 9am tomorrow, 150 to 300mm of rain was expected about the ranges and foothills, with 80 to 120mm closer to the Horowhenua Kapiti Coast and in northern parts of Wellington. A severe weather watch for strong winds was also in place, and Wellingtonians could expect gale northwesterlies, which would ease early tomorrow.
The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) advised Wellington commuters to take care on the roads and allow extra time for travel.
Regional performance manager Mark Owen said motorists should drive to the conditions. State Highway 1 between Otaki and Levin had already been affected by surface flooding, and the speed limit was lowered to 30kmh.
Winds were forecast to get stronger, particularly on the Rimutaka Hill Road linking Wellington and Wairarapa. High-sided vehicles, caravans, campervans and people travelling by bicycle or motorbike were advised to take care.
A yacht was ripped from from its mooring and washed on to rocks this morning. The police maritime unit responded to the incident about 8.30am on Cobham Drive in Evans Bay and the yacht had been secured, Inspector Dave Rose said.
Power cuts in Canterbury
Around 1500 people in Canterbury are likely to remain without power overnight, after a snow storm battered the region today.
Electricity lines company Orion said it had restored power to about 3000 inland Canterbury customers by this afternoon, however about 1500 customers were likely to remain without power overnight.
Operations manager Stu Kilduff said most of the outages were caused by the build-up of snow and ice on lines, and tree branches being weighed down on lines.
Roads
The NZTA says most of the highways closed by yesterday's storm that struck many parts of the South Island are open again.
However, SH8 Tekapo-Twizel and SH80 Mount Cook Highway are closed due to snow. In South Otago, Cairn Rd in the Slopedown/Owaka area is closed due to a slip.
NZTA journey manager Lee Wright says while a lot of the highways are open now, drivers need to take care and watch for surface water, as a number of road side channels are full to over flowing in places.
Ms Wright said with the amount of snow around, and cold temperatures, the next concern was black ice, which could make driving treacherous, particularly on inland highways.
Drivers needed to keep their speeds down, and watch for black ice havens, such as bridge decks, and areas of road shaded by trees or embankments. She encouraged people to avoid early morning driving as that was the time when black ice conditions were at their worst.
Cautions remain in place for many stretches, including: SH6 Haast-Makarora, SH85 Kyeburn-Ranfurly, SH94 Mossburn-Te Anau, SH83 Kurow-Omarama, and SH8 the Lindis Pass (chains essential).
SH73 Arthurs Pass is open and chains are essential, however no trucks or towing. A manned checkpoint will operate on both sides of the pass overnight.
- Check highway conditions here
The Queenstown Lakes District Council advises that chains are essential on the Crown Range Rd.
In the Maniototo, Danseys Pass Rd is closed; other roads are open but snow was lying in some places and extreme caution was advised.
Yesterday, Otago and Canterbury temperatures plunged to 0C as a warm flow coming from the Tasman Sea and a cold southern blast collided, creating showers and chilling temperatures.
Snow could still possibly fall today, however those further south are more likely to see showers and strong winds, MetService meteorologist Rebekah LaBar said.
"[We are] looking at generally showery conditions, but freezing levels will start to gradually rise so we're not looking at as much snow, at least at low levels, for the South Island."
Ms LaBar said the frontal system that brought rain and snow to the South Island would begin to affect places in the North Island today into tomorrow.
West Coast clean-up
Hokitika, on the West Coast of the South Island, was hit by flooding this morning, but WeatherWatch analyst Philip Duncan said the rain should ease in from midday, allowing residents time for a big clean-up. In Hokitika, residents will be cleaning up damage caused by flooding today.
Fire Service spokesman Andrew Norris said firefighters and ambulance officers helped to evacuate locals through the night, including 20 rest home residents with mobility issues to the hospital and ambulance station.
"They had a high tide at midnight last night so just after that was when it got pretty hectic," he said. "The Fire Service assisted a lot of other property owners but [for] a lot of them there was nothing we could do, there was just so much surface water."
Earlier report
Snow missed central Queenstown yesterday, but settled on the higher suburbs of Fernhill and Queenstown Hill and outlying residential areas such as Shotover Country, Lakes Hayes Estate, Arthurs Point and Arrowtown.
Wakatipu High School, Remarkables Primary School, Queenstown Primary School, Arrowtown School, Shotover Primary School and St Joseph's School were all closed.
Queenstown Airport communications manager Jen Andrews said flights were disrupted throughout yesterday morning with a total of eight flights in and four flights out being cancelled.
The snow was a blessing for skifields: Coronet Peak ski area manager Ross Copland said 5cm an hour fell on the mountain during the snowfall's peak intensity yesterday morning.
''This is shaping up to be the biggest single dump we've had since 2010.''
Wanaka
Cardrona Alpine Resort was closed because of snow described on its website as a ''blizzard''. More than 30mm of rain fell in Wanaka between 4am and 2pm yesterday, causing surface flooding in Aubrey Rd and other low-lying streets.
By late morning the rain had turned to snow, which fell heavily until early afternoon.
Mount Aspiring College and Wanaka Primary School closed for the day, and Queenstown Lakes District Council staff in the township went home.
Central Otago
In Central Otago, up to 30cm of snow settled across the Manuherikia and Maniototo.
Poolburn School, Maniototo Area School and St John's School were shut by lunchtime, and Omakau School sent home children living at Becks.
By mid-afternoon, snow was still affecting roads from Lauder and Becks through to Oturehua towards Ranfurly, as well as St Bathans and the Maniototo.
Alexandra, Cromwell, Roxburgh and Clutha missed the worst of the weather.
Waitaki-Mackenzie
In the Waitaki Valley and Mackenzie Basin, snow began falling about noon, eventually closing SH8 between Fairlie and the Lindis Pass.
Chaos ensued in the Lindis Pass when several vehicles jack-knifed or became stuck, making it difficult for emergency services to reach a man who had suffered a stroke near the top of the pass.
A member of the Omarama Fire Brigade's first response unit, Terry Walsh, said fire and ambulance units could not reach the man, but after some delays, a first response four-wheel-drive vehicle was able to take the man to Twizel for treatment.
By about 4pm, 25cm snow had settled in Omarama and was expected to continue through the night.
Accommodation in Omarama filled rapidly as motorists became trapped by the closure of highways leading into the township.
Snow was widespread throughout the Mackenzie Basin from Twizel to Mt Cook and Tekapo to Burkes Pass.
About 10cm had fallen in Otematata by late afternoon, and had begun to settle at Kurow and Tokarahi.
The snow was expected to spread down the Waitaki Valley and into inland areas of North Otago overnight.
Aurora Energy spokesman Gary Johnson said heavy snow could damage overhead lines and disrupt power. He advised householders to get adequate food supplies, warm clothing and bedding, torch and spare batteries, battery radio and an alternative source of heating and cooking.
- additional reporting NZME.
