The weather is fine across the whole North Island.
Meanwhile, down south, snow is falling in some of the lower parts of the country as a front makes its way north.
MetService has a raft of cold-weather advisories in place, including a heavy snow warning for South Canterbury and heavy snow watches for Queenstown-Lakes, Central Otago, and parts of Southland.
Wotherspoon said the tail end of the front may bring some morning frost to some of the inland areas of the North Island tomorrow as the country starts to some cooler temperatures as we head into winter.
“That’ll be the same tomorrow morning for places further south where that front will be clearing ... Invercargill has a forecast low of -3 C tonight, so they’ll be getting a good frost there.”
The cold front caused temperatures to plummet into the low single digits in some regions on Saturday afternoon.
By around 3:30 PM, Wānaka recorded 2.4°C, while both Alexandra and Queenstown measured 3°C. Along the coast, Dunedin experienced a temperature of 7.7°C.
Wotherspoon previously indicated that up to 20 cm of snow could accumulate above 500 meters in inland Canterbury, south of the Rangitata River, including the Mackenzie Basin.
Heavy snowfall in Otago and Southland above 500 meters is also predicted, with snow levels potentially dropping to 400 meters in Otago and 300 meters in Southland.
Wotherspoon said the most concerning road warning is for Lindis Pass, where 8-15cm of snow could accumulate around the summit and lesser amounts down to 400m.
“That amount of snow is incredibly disruptive,” she said.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council reported snow settling on State Highway 6 around Kingston and further south, indicating that snow clearing would be conducted if necessary.
The council advised that chains were mandatory for all vehicles travelilng over the Crown Range Road and from the base carpark of Coronet Peak Road.
Conditions in the south are expected to improve as the evening progresses.
Road snowfall warnings:
Haast Pass (SH6) Valid: 6 hours from 5:00pm Sat 18 May to 11:00pm Sat 18 May. Forecast: 2 - 4 cm of snow could accumulate on the road south of the summit.
Lindis Pass (SH8) Valid: 14 hours from 2:00pm Sat 18 May to 4:00am Sun 19 May. Forecast: 8 - 15 cm of snow could accumulate near the summit with lesser amounts to 400 metres.
Crown Range Road Valid: 4 hours from 11:00am Sat 18 May to 3:00pm Sat 18 May. Forecast: 3 - 5 cm of snow could accumulate near the summit with lesser amounts to 400 metres.
Milford Road (SH94) Valid: 3 hours from 11:00am Sat 18 May to 2:00pm Sat 18 May. Forecast: 3 - 5 cm of snow could accumulate above 700 metres, with lesser amounts to 400 metres.
Porters Pass (SH73) Valid: 8 hours from 9:00pm Sat 18 May to 5:00am Sun 19 May. Forecast: 1 - 2 cm of snow could accumulate near the summit with lesser amounts to 900 metres.
