Photos of the weekend's South Island snowfallsKEY POINTS:
Motorists are being urged to show caution after a southerly front brought high winds, hail, sleet and snow to the lower South Island at the weekend.
Wind gusts of 130km an hour are also predicted to batter the Otago Peninsula and Stewart Island today.
Metservice forecaster Ian Miller said winds of this strength could damage trees, power lines and insecure roofs.
It could also make driving conditions hazardous, especially for high sided vehicles, cars towing caravans and motorcyclists.
Mr Miller said the winds would begin easing this afternoon.
The Automobile Association asked drivers, particularly those travelling in alpine areas, to carry chains with black ice causing many minor crashes around the region.
High winds affected flights to and from Queenstown on Saturday, and gusts over 130km/h around Dunedin yesterday whipped up the sea off the Otago coast, lifted roofing tiles on land and brought down trees and wrecked fences, the Otago Daily Times reported today.
State Highway 87 between Outram and Middlemarch remained closed because of snow on Saturday and yesterday, while caution was required on several other southern roads because of ice, snow and/or high winds.
The affected roads included SH8 over the Lindis Pass between Omarama and Tarras, SH85 between Ranfurly and Alexandra, SH94 between Mossburn and Te Anau and the Milford Rd, the Crown Range, and SH6 between Cromwell and Arrow Junction.
Further north, drivers were warned of sheet ice covering a 4km stretch of road on either side of Greta Valley in Hurunui in North Canterbury.
But the sudden cold snap was good news for skiers with 2000 descending on Coronet Peak for the first day of the 2008 ski season.
The skifield could not be opened on Saturday because of overnight rain and high winds.
- NZHERALD STAFF with NZPA
