Snow and flooding have closed two South Island highways, and temperatures dropped into the negatives with more wintry weather expected this morning.
State Highway 87 between Middlemarch and Outram in Otago was closed by snow overnight, while flooding shut State Highway 96 at Oreti Plains in Southland, according to NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA).
This morning, Lindis Pass recorded -1.9C, while the Crown Range Rd got down to -2.3C and Tekapo dropped to -0.9.
The North Island was warmer with Hamilton at 8C while Auckland and Tauranga were at 10C.
A heavy snow watch covering Central Otago, Queenstown Lakes District and the Mackenzie Basin expired at 4am.
MetService had forecast heavy snow above 600m, with lesser amounts down to 400m, before conditions eased from the south overnight.
Meteorologist Sophie Huntington said snow was expected to have largely cleared from the lower South Island before dawn, but urged motorists to remain cautious on roads this morning.
“As it’s colder overnight, it’s not going to melt as much as it would in the daylight,” she said.
“Once the day breaks in the morning, that should help melt any that’s about.”
The snow risk shifts further north this morning, with road snowfall warnings in place for Porters, Arthurs and Lewis passes.
Between 2cm and 5cm could accumulate near the summit of Porters Pass before 11am, with lesser amounts down to 500m.
Around 1cm or less is forecast near the summit of Arthurs Pass between 4am and 10am.
Rain could turn to snow above 800m on Lewis Pass between 9am and 2pm, with about 1cm possible near the summit.
Temperatures were also forecast to dip below freezing in places, with Twizel reaching -2C and Alexandra -1C.
“It’ll be chilly, definitely, but not what we were experiencing a month ago,” Huntington said.
Further north, the front is bringing heavy rain up the West Coast.
Huntington said Westport and the wider Buller area would be waking to wet conditions as the slow-moving system reached the northwest of the South Island.
A heavy rain watch is in force for Buller until 1pm, with rainfall amounts potentially approaching warning criteria, particularly about the ranges.
Haast recorded 9.2mm of rain in the hour to 5pm yesterday, Huntington said.
“It’s still going to be heavy in those Buller, Westland areas, but not as bad as it was earlier.”
The system was expected to weaken as it travelled north, while conditions were expected to improve across much of the South Island behind it.
Rain is forecast to develop around Wellington and surrounding areas during the afternoon or evening.
Auckland can expect cloudy periods and isolated light showers before showers become more frequent in the evening, when brief heavy falls are possible.
“It might be heavy but quite short-lived,” Huntington said.
