Four-seasons weather causes chaos
A wild weekend of weather extremes saw heavy snowfall, 160kmh wind gusts, thunderstorms and balmy, summer-like temperatures – all in one day.
Mother nature produced one of the most varied 24-hour periods of the year.
It started with balmy conditions in parts of the South Island.
At 9pm on Saturday, Christchurch’s temperature was about 17 degrees Celsius – 5C shy of Fiji’s 22C. An hour later, the mercury climbed to 20.1C in Kaikoura, the MetService said.
Yesterday, Southland residents woke to heavy snow blanketing the region while severe weather warnings were in place across most of the country.
On the West Coast, strong winds and rain caused surface flooding and brought down trees.
Snow was falling on the southern passes, with high winds prompting the New Zealand Transport Agency to issue warnings.
‘‘Drivers should carry chains on the passes including Lindis Pass,’’ the agency said.
State Highway 94 from Milford Sound to Te Anau was closed until today because of snow and the avalanche risk.
Mt Hutt and Porters skifields were closed because of strong winds but fresh snow overnight on both fields will mean good skiing once the wind dies down.
Severe gales gusting up to 100kmh were predicted to batter Westland and Buller, with heavy rain expected and a thunderstorm watch in place.
The MetService predicted more than 50 millimetres of rain could fall in less than six hours further north, near Nelson.
The MetService also issued a severe thunderstorm warning for western Nelson around the Kahurangi National Park, Buller and Westland.
‘‘Some of these thunderstorms may be severe with very squally but brief wind gusts in excess of 110kmh,’’ MetService said.
‘‘Wind gusts of this strength can cause damage to unsecure structures, trees and power lines, and make driving conditions hazardous.’’
Snow had fallen to 800 metres in parts of Otago and 800m in Southland. Southland resident Katrina Thomas said heavy snow was settling in the region.
At 2pm, Arthur’s Pass cafe manager Marion Bohny said it was ‘‘snowing quite heavily’’ in the alpine village.
‘‘It’s been trying to snow all morning – it’s just beginning to settle now.’’
Treble Cone skifield, near Wanaka, had 19cm of new snow in the past 24 hours, but skiing yesterday was limited to Home Basin while Saddle Basin was closed because of strong winds.
Up to 10cm of snow could accumulate at the summit of Lewis Pass, with similar conditions at Arthurs and Lindis passes.
Porters Pass could expect snow at slightly higher altitudes – the snow level dropping to 700m with 3cm expected at the summit.
In the North Island, Weather Watch clocked winds of 130kmh buffeting the Wairarapa coast, while Wellington experienced northwesterly gales of up to 100kmh.
Masterton had gusts of 115kmh, while Auckland was hammered by gusts of between 70 and 90kmh, bringing down power lines and trees.
A sudden downpour just after 1pm caused flash flooding in parts of Auckland.
In the Manawatu, there were reports of an intense lightning and a thunderstorm just after 1pm.
Forecasters have explained that the crazy conditions were the result of a clash of warm air coming in from the north, an Antarctic-like low pressure system in the south, and a westerly coming across the Tasman, all being trapped under heavy cloud cover.
MetService meteorologist Peter Little said motorists needed to be wary of the weather conditions and to travel safely.