A wintry blast has brought snow to parts of the South, closing some roads for a time and making driving conditions treacherous.
The Crown Range road was closed overnight and for much of this morning but has now reopened.
In an update at 11am the Queenstown Lakes District Council advised that the road had reopened but motorists "must carry chains".
It said there was ice and grit in places and still some snow in today's forecast.
"Drive with care and expect things to change quickly."
Remarkables Ski Area manager Ross Lawrence said while it was hard to tell exactly how much fell at his skifield, he guessed about 30 to 50cm.
He wasn’t anticipating much more snow for the remainder of the day, saying the bulk of it had passed through.
"There might be two to five [centimetres] or something like that over the next 24 hours but the weather has gone through for us as far as the storm goes, now it’s just a matter of getting around the place."
Roads in the Wakatipu were wet and temperatures were hovering around freezing at daybreak. Motorists were urged to take care on bridge decks and in shady spots.
At 10 am the QLDC said the Coronet Peak Road was open up to the Skippers Road turn-off but the rest of the road remained closed.
Snow has fallen around Kingston and Arrowtown, and reportedly in many hilly areas around the South.
A heavy snow watch was in place for much of Otago and Southland through to noon today.
In the North Island, snow has closed the Desert Road (SH1) between Turangi and Waiouru, and SH46 between Rangipo and Tongariro.
