Southerners got a dose of reality today after basking in summer-like weather at the weekend, with snow and heavy rain falling in parts of the South including Queenstown and Central Otago.
Snow and ice warnings for roads were in place for many parts of the South, including alpine passes, the Crown Range Road linking Queenstown and Wanaka and the Kawarau Gorge. The Milford Road (SH94) would stay shut today due to a heavy avalanche risk.
Snow has been falling in Queenstown since about 4am today and continued to come down thick and fast. All schools and numerous day care centres in the resort have been closed.
Power grid company Aurora Energy said crews have been working hard in challenging conditions to restore power to parts of the Wakatipu Basin especially the Arrowtown, Frankton and Glenorchy areas.
Heavy wet snow, fallen trees and snow-loaded branches on lines were causing damage to overhead power lines.
By mid-afternoon, power remained out for some customers in parts of Queenstown, Frankton, Arrowtown, Dalefield and Glenorchy.
An Aurora Energy spokesman said power was back on for 3000 customers, though a further 1500 remain without power.
"The safety of the public and lines crews is of primary importance so always keep well clear of fallen power lines or damaged electrical equipment and treat them as live at all times."
Snow-loaded tree branches was causing problems in Glenorchy Rd, which has closed, and will remain shut overnight, the Queenstown Lakes District Council said.
Parts of Queenstown's CBD and also Lake Hayes Estate and other suburbs also lost power about 10.45am but it was quickly restored.
A snowplough was working hard on the roads at Arthurs Pt and Gorge Rd, but the council advised drivers to use chains.
Frankton Transfer Station was closed until further notice due to dangerous conditions for users. Also, kerbside collections in the Wakatipu have been postponed until conditions improved.
Flights scheduled to arrive or depart at Queenstown Airport have been delayed or cancelled, due to heavy snow, although the airport remained open. Air New Zealand cancelled all its flights this morning, with more disruptions expected through the day. Passengers should contact their airlines for more information.
There are no signs of the snow slowing down as the skies remain grey and heavy snow continues to blanket the Queenstown Lakes district.
Close to 50cm of snow has fallen at Cardrona skifield since Sunday night, making it the largest snowfall it has received this winter. It would remain closed today but was expected to open on Tuesday as MetService was predicting fine weather.
The Remarkables and Coronet Peak skifield were closed, but NZSki staff at Coronet found another way to fill their time.
Marg Arnott, Wakatipu Meals in Wheels co-ordinator, said: "Very big thank you to Coronet Peak for stepping in to deliver Meals On Wheels Arrowtown today. So very grateful for helping us out at the last minute. Great community service.''
Treble Cone had received a huge amount of snow, totalling 35cm at the base and 70cm at the top of Home Basin Express. It was continuing to fall at 10cm an hour.
"It's one of the heaviest and most consistent snowfalls we've seen," Treble Cone brand manager Richard Birkby said.
CHAINS FOR CROWN RANGE
The latest update from Queenstown Lakes District Council said the Crown Range Road was open, but chains must be carried. Grit trucks were at work to clear snow in the area.
Snow was expected to ease this afternoon on the Crown Range, before clearing tonight. Between 10am and 9pm, a further 10 to 15cm was expected to accumulate on the road above 500 metres, with lesser amounts lower down.
Many roads in the area were also affected by surface water from heavy rain, so watch for flooding and ponding.
CENTRAL OTAGO, ALPINE PASSES AND MILFORD RD
The Central Otago District Council said snow fell in Manuherikia and Maniototo areas earlier this morning and there were also areas of surface flooding across the district from continuing rain.
Dansey’s Pass Road was restricted to 4WD vehicles due to snow.
There was an ice and snow warning in place for the Kawarau Gorge on SH6 (Gibbston to Cromwell).
Alpine passes have been affected by heavy snow today.
The Haast Pass (SH6 Haast to Makarora) was closed just before midday but reopened early in the afternoon, the New Zealand Transport Agency advised. Rain may turn to snow near the top of the pass for a time until this evening, but little if any snow was expected to settle,
The Lindis Pass (SH8) also closed late this morning but was reopen by noon. Snow was expected to ease this afternoon, then clear tonight. Between 10am and 10pm, a further 5cm to 10cm of snow was expected to accumulate on the road near the summit, with lesser amounts down to 500m, the NZTA said.
State Highway 94 is closed from the Park Boundary (45km from Te Anau) due to extensive tree falls and snow on the road, Milford Road Alliance advised.
The snow was expected to clear tonight. Between 10am and 9pm on Monday, a further 5cm to 10cm was expected to accumulate on the road above 500 metres, with lesser amounts down to 300 metres.
However, the road was unlikely to open until at least late Tuesday afternoon, depending on avalanche control work.
The cold front was forecast to move across the South Island from today, bringing with it high winds, rain and significant snow for some areas. A heavy snowfall warning was also in place for Southland and Fiordland.
MetService meteorologist Tui McInnes said areas were already being buffeted by high winds, and heavy rain and snow would follow as the cold front moved in from the Tasman Sea.
A heavy rain warning was in force for Fiordland north of Doubtful Sound, Westland south of Otira and the headwaters of Otago and Canterbury lakes and rivers.
WARM WEEKEND
Timaru was officially the warmest place in the country, reaching a high of 23degC yesterday, and both Dunedin and Oamaru were not far behind with highs of 22degC.
- Reporting also from Tim Miller, Sean Nugent and ODT Online
