Thousands of homes without power after heavy snow

Heavy snow has cut power to 3500 homes and closed roads and schools in Otago and Queenstown this morning.

Aurora Energy's Matt Settle told RNZ said there were 3500 homes without power at 7am, with five lines down.  

"It is the snow at the moment, there are no other unusual things happening on the network and we believe all the outages at this point are snow related."

It wasn't clear what damage had been caused, he said.

"When we do have a snow dump in the area it does generate some hazards for field crews and restricts their access and mobility and does make it a little bit challenging to identify all the causes."

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About 1100 homes in Alexandra are without power, according to the Aurora Energy website.

There are also 850 homes without power near Lauder, almost 800 homes without power around Cromwell, and 650 homes are without power near Clyde.

Dunstan High School is also closed for the day.

State Highway 85 is closed between Omakau and Palmerston, and from Kyeburn to Omakau, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi said.

Drivers are being urged to stay off the roads in the Maniototo and Manuherekia areas because of thick snow.

Daryl Jones in Lauder told RNZ there was 9cm of snow on the ground. Power went out at 5.15am.

He said he had had lived in the area for 30 years and not seen snow like it for many years.

In Queenstown most schools are closed for the day and roads have also been affected by the snow.

The Crown Range is closed due to heavy snow and extreme care is required on the alternative route via Kawarau Gorge. Carry chains and fit them where required.

Other key routes are open but drivers are being told to carry tyre chains.

There are fallen trees blocking lanes on Arrowtown-Lake Hayes Road and Hunter Road.

A fallen tree was blocking Arthurs Point Road but one lane is now open, the Queenstown Lakes District Council said.

Orbus Queenstown said most of its bus services were not running as its drivers were snowed in.

Queenstown Airport is open but warning that some flights may be delayed or cancelled.

MetService meteorologist John Law told Morning Report there was a "fair bit of snow" already coming through on the webcams on Crown Range Road and at Queenstown Airport.

Moisture resulting from the cold air and slow-moving front made for the "perfect conditions" for snow to continue piling up throughout the day.

Law said the heaviest snowfall expected was up to 25cm in inland parts of Otago.

"That's still high enough to run across the passes, say the Crown Range Road, places like the Lindis Pass as we head further north as well, that snow moves up into places like Arthur's and Porters Pass. so well worth keeping that in mind if you're planning your journey across those higher passes of the South Island today."

- additional reporting RNZ