‘‘An intense front is expected to move northeast over the South Island and on to the North Island on Sunday,’’ a MetService spokesman said.
‘‘This front is followed by a cold outbreak bringing snow to inland parts of the South Island, affecting higher roads and possibly damaging powerlines.
‘‘The snow and cold temperatures may bring stress to livestock.
‘‘On Sunday, there is likely to be warning amounts of snow for inland Otago and for the Canterbury High Country, south of the Rangitata River.’’
Temperatures were also expected to drop to near zero.
MetService on Saturday afternoon issued snow warnings for most alpine roads in the South Island, as well as the Crown Range, linking Queenstown and Wanaka, and The Milford Road (State Highway 94) in Southland.
The Milford Road was forecast to get up to 12cm of snow, while the Crown Range could get up to 5cm on Sunday morning.
Further north, heavy snow was set to affect Canterbury alpine passes including Porters Pass (SH73) , which may get between 20cm and 30cm, and Arthur's Pass (SH73), which was forecast to get up to 15cm from Sunday evening until Monday.
The MetService spokesman urged people to keep up-to-date with the latest forecasts and road snow warnings.
Meanwhile, there was also likely to be warning amounts of rain for Westland and Fiordland, and it was possible warning amounts of rain may fall in the headwaters of the Canterbury and Otago lakes and rivers, he said.
From late Monday, the front was likely to move slowly north to create a mostly sunny working week, he said.
Snow warnings
Milford Road (SH94)
From 6am to 11am on Sunday: Snow is forecast to lower to 500 metres in the morning, and 8cm to 12cm of it may settle on the road above 700 metres.
Crown Range Road
From 7am-12pm on Sunday: Snow is forecast to lower to 500 metres Sunday morning, and 3cm to 5cm may settle on the road above 700 metres.
Lindis Pass (SH8)
From 8am-1pm on Sunday: Snow is forecast to lower to 500 metres Sunday morning, and 3cm to 6cm may settle on the road above 700 metres.
Porters Pass (SH73)
From 4pm on Sunday until 6am on Monday: Snow is forecast to lower to 400 metres Sunday afternoon, and 20cm to 30cm of snow may settle on the road above 500 metres.
Arthur's Pass (SH73)
From 5pm on Sunday until 1am on Monday: Snow is forecast to lower to 400 metres Sunday afternoon, and 10cm to 15 cm of snow may settle on the road above 500 metres.
Lewis Pass (SH7)
From 7pm on Sunday until 6am on Monday: Snow is forecast to lower to 400 metres Sunday evening, and 6cm to 12 cm of snow may settle on the road above 500 metres.
- additional reporting ODT Online
