Snow expected in Catlins

The year's first sprinkling of snow is expected to dust mountaintops in the Catlins tonight, an "unseasonable" phenomenon part of an early cold snap chilling the South Island.

Metservice forecaster Andy Downs said people in the Catlins, on the South Island's southeastern coast, could wake up to see white tops on their mountains.

"It's an unseasonable cold snap and fairly unusual. Talking about it this early is a bit of a worry."

The Metservice forecasts an overnight low of about 7C in the Catlins. Temperatures are expected to drop to 2C at Wanaka and 3C in Queenstown.

Inland Otago might even get some frosts, Mr Downs said.

Cold air would blanket the South Island this evening and through the night, but the sun would be back by day, he said.

It would be the first snow of the year, he said.

- NZHERALD STAFF