Snowy cold spell set to peter out

A cold spell that brought snow to low levels in parts of Otago and Southland should begin to peter out tomorrow.

Motorists got an early taste of winter driving yesterday when snow fell on roads across the region, forcing the closure of the Milford Road overnight on Monday and the Crown Range road for about two hours yesterday morning.

MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said the snow came from a cold southerly outbreak that closely followed a weather system that passed over the region during Easter weekend.

The combination of cold air and showers brought a dusting to well below 1000m in many places, including Kingston (700m) and the ranges surrounding the Wakatipu Basin, including the Coronet Peak, Remarkables and Cardrona ski areas.

Mr Ferris said cold temperatures were expected to linger until tomorrow, when they would begin to rise.

By mid-morning yesterday, 2cm of snow had settled on the Crown Range summit (1070m) and Homer Tunnel (945m), while the Lindis Pass (971m) got a dusting.

Snow fell intermittently for much of yesterday on the Old Man Range, south of Alexandra and Clyde.

Snow was also reported in the Maniototo.