South Island's skiers break records

Skiers have broken reccords on the opening weekend of South Islands slopes. Photo / Supplied

Records have been broken on the opening weekend of South Island's ski slopes.

More than 6000 skiers and snowboarders took to Queenstown's Coronet Peak and Canterbury's Mt Hutt.

NZ Ski CEO James Coddington said last week's snow storm prompted people to dust off their skis and boards.

He said they had never had more than 3000 people through for opening weekend at Mt Hutt before.

Mr Coddington said it was set to be another cold week which is good news for the snow making machines, and natural snow would be a bonus.

Christchurch is likely to stay very cold this week, with more snow on its way from tonight.

A few flurries are possible down to sea level in the city, with around five centimetres of snow likely above 200 metres.

WeatherWatch analyst Richard Green said the main feature this week would be strong, bitterly cold winds.

Tony Trewinnard from Blue Skies Weather says forecasts are getting more accurate, so being better prepared may be the key.

"It's not that they come as a surprise, but sometimes the impact of them I think can be a bit of a surprise to people because they find they can't go to work, can't send their kids to school, can't fly in or out, or travel."

Mr Trewinnard said other cities around the world have much larger snow falls and don't have such disruptions.

Further light snow showers are expected from Wednesday night through Friday.