Snow was still falling on the Port Hills yesterday. Photo / George Heard
Snow was still falling on the Port Hills yesterday. Photo / George Heard
One of the year’s coldest nights was predicted overnight, with snow on the road even in parts of the North Island.
The Desert Rd remains closed this morning between Rangipo and Waiouru due to snow and ice, with detours in place.
The South Island’s inland areas were predicted to experience nightly temperature drops of more than a few degrees below zero.
Today’s low in Queenstown was predicted to be -5C, which would be the city’s lowest temperature of the year so far but is still considerably above the city’s all-time low of -12.2C in July 1995.
Settled, clear weather behind this polar blast is a perfect recipe for freezing overnight temps
The coldest temps are forecast over the South Island overnight tonight while minimums bottom out over the North Island tomorrow
Snow blanketed the south of the country this week, causing disruptions to major highways and plummeting temperatures, creating a true wintry atmosphere.
Although the snowball fights will cease and the snowmen may melt, the cold temperatures the icy wonderland brought with it are here to stay around the country as the week comes to a close.
The cold front responsible for the recent weather moved over the country yesterday.
Before another set of weather features sweeps across the country this weekend, MetService is predicting calm weather to follow the cold front today.
“Snow affecting the upper South Island, including the higher suburbs of Christchurch, is on the easing trend, with showers and snow set to gradually clear,” MetService meteorologist April Clark said.
As the skies cleared yesterday, however, it made for the perfect recipe for the icy blast to produce freezing overnight temperatures, according to Clark.
A blanket of snow over Hanmer Springs. Photo / George Heard
Masterton is expected to reach a low of -3C on Saturday morning, which will likely be the coldest on the North Island.
Clark reported the Fifa Women’s World Cup quarter-finals in Wellington and Auckland couldn’t have come at a better time today, with the wet weather forecast to clear well before the kick-offs.
“However, layers will be the key, even if the packed stadiums will help raise the cool temperatures by a degree or two,” Clark said.
A couple of will fronts travel over the North and South Islands during the course of the weekend, but the majority of the rain associated with each will be limited to western regions, leaving the east largely dry. Temperatures recover a little bit throughout the day and at night when these fronts pass.
Winter wonderland not so wonderful for some
As snow blanketed many areas of the country yesterday, many took advantage of wintry weather, having snowball fights and sledding.
However, it caused mayhem on major motorways, with five South Island routes and one North Island route closed due to the thick snow.
People on Christchurch's Port Hills are having snowball fights and are tobogganing. Photo / George Heard
The South Island’s Arthur’s Pass, State Highway 1 between Waitati and Dunedin, State Highway 87 between Outram and Middlemarch, and State Highway 75 from Little River to Duvauchelle were among the roads that were closed due to snow and ice.
Following accidents caused by the icy conditions in Dunedin on Thursday morning, Southern District police urged drivers to exercise extreme caution.
