KEY POINTS:
Spring may have sprung, but try telling that to South Islanders stung by a polar blast that brought snow and freezing temperatures yesterday.
Snow to low levels in Canterbury, including flurries in Christchurch, closed schools and made life miserable for newborn lambs on farms in higher altitudes.
At 10am, it was 2.2C in the Garden City and 0.5C at Darfield, 35km further west. However, skifields were celebrating big dumps that will provide a much-needed boost to their season after weeks of warmer weather.
Canterbury's Mt Hutt Skifield received more than 15cm of fresh snow yesterday, while in the Queenstown area Coronet Peak and The Remarkables received about 25cm.
The southerly weather system is expected to move up the North Island today, bringing rain, and some snow showers to the central ranges.
In the mid-Canterbury town of Methven yesterday, the college and two primary schools were closed because of safety concerns.
Mt Hutt College senior manager Eric Newham said the school's 500-plus students had arrived with snow falling.
Because many came by bus from their homes in mountainous areas, they were sent home later in the morning in case they were cut off.
"It's purely for safety. It's the first time we have had to close this year."
Snow also closed State Highway 73, between Arthurs Pass and Springfield, and Transit New Zealand warned of icy conditions around the south.
Retired couple Peter and Lois Moodie were yesterday helping with stock on their children's mid-Canterbury farms in more than 7cm of snow.
Mr Moodie said lambs were being born on many farms in the area and he predicted some would not survive the cold snap.
Mrs Moodie rescued two newborn lambs whose mother had died and was giving them shelter in her garage yesterday. "Hopefully we can find another mother for them, otherwise they will be pets," she said.
The president of Mid-Canterbury Federated Farmers, Rupert Curd, said the polar blast was a concern, but farmers in the midst of lambing received good warning and were able to take precautions.
"There will be minor losses, but only minor."
MetService forecaster Oliver Druce said "special circumstances" of cold air meeting a layer of warm air created the snowfalls. Otago and Southland also received snow showers.
More snow was expected overnight in the south from a second front before a clearance today.
