Nichol's assistant manager Craig Inch said firewood sales at the garden centre in Timaru St had been steady since Friday afternoon.
''With a bad forecast, we get a rush of firewood sales.''
The colder the weather, the hotter the firewood sales figures, he said.
''We've benefited from a crap winter,'' he said with a smile.
The cold weather had ''stretched on''. Usually, firewood sales were scarce by September and garden centre sales were the main earner.
On Saturday, firewood made up half the garden centre's sales, he said.
Tristan Dingemans, of Dunedin, said he rarely bought firewood in September but had run out and did not want to be caught short if snow arrived.
''You may as well be prepared.''
He had lived in Dunedin for 23 years and it was the coldest and longest winter he could remember.
