Snow prompts road warnings around the South
Crews are out clearing snow from Southern highways as a series of cold fronts moves up the country, sending temperatures plummeting.
The Central Otago District Council early this afternoon said snow was falling in the Maniototo and Manuherekia areas, as well as in the high country across the district.
MetService has issued road snowfall warnings for State Highway 8 between Omarama and Fairlie and Fairlie and Tarras (Lindis Pass).
There are also warnings is place for SH6 between Kingston and Lumsden, and SH85 between Ranfurly and Becks.
The Danseys Pass Road is closed. Elsewhere, snow has been falling on the Crown Range Road, and the Queenstown Lakes District Council advised late this morning that chains were required to be carried by anyone travelling on it.
The snow will be welcomed by skifields in the South Island.
A number of club skifields have yet to open, or have opened only to close again, while many commercial fields have relied on snow-making to open.
"No snow in August on many skifields. This could be the first time in our lives that local club fields do not open at all," Christchurch City Council climate resilience advisor Tony Moore noted on LinkedIn.
MetService said the cold fronts would see temperatures drop on Friday heading into the weekend, heralding the return of widespread frosts.
Snow was expected down to 800 metres for the North Island ranges, and as low as 500 metres across the Canterbury High Country and Southern Lakes.
Snowfall warnings were in place for higher parts of the alpine passes for later today, from 5pm to 9pm on Arthur's and Lewis passes.
Mt Cheeseman said it was "still hanging out for snow" on its social media, Broken River was yet to open, while Craigieburn posted "a lean July and leaner start to August has meant we are not yet in a position to open the field for skiing."
Mt Lyford was closed on Friday, as was Mt Dobson, Mt Olympus, Hanmer Springs Ski Area and Fox Peak, though all have opened earlier in the season.
Last year was New Zealand's third warmest winter on record, according to NIWA data, and earlier this year the organisation predicted a milder winter, with air temperatures expected to be above average across all New Zealand regions for the season, and fewer frequent cold snaps and frosts.
Five of New Zealand's six warmest winters have occurred since 2020.
- Allied Media/RNZ
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