Weather: Snow in Wellington CBD possible as polar blast hits from Antarctica

Snow is falling to sea level in some South Island areas, while the blast of cold air coming "straight from Antarctica" will also give Wellington its best chance of snow in a decade.

Residents in Fairlie woke to snow this morning - following falls in Queenstown and other areas last night. Snow has also closed Arthur's Pass SH73 to Otira while motorists are being urged to take care on SH8 between Cromwell and Omarama and SH79 between Te Anau and Milford.

Metservice meteorologist Jesse Owens said the Wellington region could expect "large amounts of snow" as a polar blast settles over the capital this evening and into tomorrow morning.

"The worst of that [snow] will be in those eastern regions, so we'll expect larger amounts of snow to low levels."

The Tararua and Rimutaka Ranges will likely be covered - 5cm to 8cm of snowfall is forecast for the summit of the Rimutakas - but Owens said snow could fall in the CBD too for the first time since 2011.

❄️Snowfall forecast to 7 am Thursday.❄️

It's important to remember the totals forecast may not necessarily be the amount that actually settles on the ground re: melting. pic.twitter.com/cn51UL03FZ

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) October 4, 2022

"Anywhere in Wellington you could see snow. This is our best chance in a long while to see some snow. We're expecting [it] down to 200 to 300 metres tonight and overnight tomorrow morning. It could get to sea levels."

She said the conditions were unusual for this time of year even though spring weather could be very changeable.

"We don't see it often and not in October - it's very rare and it is unusual to see an outbreak this cold this late in the year."

Metservice currently has a heavy snowfall warning in place for the Remutaka Hill Rd, and a heavy snow watch for the eastern hills of Wellington and the Tararua Ranges.

A month ago, a similar icy blast resulted in flurries of snow throughout Wellington, including Hataitai and the suburb of Brooklyn.

Joseph K Sobin left his Brooklyn house for an early morning run to be greeted by flurries of what appeared to be snow.

"Already, I feel my cheeks reddening as blood rushes to them, trying to warm my face and I just thought windy Welly has transformed to snowy Welly!!"

But MetService meteorologist Dan Corrigan said while there were reports of snow at higher elevations, a lot of the reports were closer to hail.

A lot of what we have been seeing is more like ice pellets or hail, that you would have quite a bit of trouble making a snowball out of."

Corrigan said the conditions couldn't be compared to the 2011 "outlier" Wellington weather when snow fell in seaside suburbs such as Oriental Bay and in the CBD.