What kind of Christ-churchian are you?
Although the word ‘Cantabrian’ is commonly used, Christchurch is a city without a collective term for its residents, and it’s getting a bit . . . awkward.
Southern skifields are promising an ‘‘epic’’ time today after the heaviest snowfall of the season so far.
Remarkables skifield manager Ross Lawrence said 45 centimetres had landed by yesterday afternoon and more was expected overnight. It was more than fell in the entire month of August.
‘‘We’re anticipating a fine sunny day [on Tuesday] with exceptional snow conditions . . . I think it will be a big day for locals.’’
Bombs would be dropped from helicopters at first light to reduce the likelihood of avalanches, he said.
The nearby Cardrona and
Coronet Peak skifields have also had record snowfalls. Coronet Peak is reporting 60cm of new snow and Cardrona 40cm.
Coronet Peak manager Nigel Kerr said a crew would be starting at 4am to ensure roads were clear for an 8am start.
‘‘I think it’s going to be absolutely bloody epic,’’ he said.
But the spring snow also caused major inconvenience for many people, especially in the Queenstown area.
There were widespread power outages in Queenstown, Arrowtown and Glenorchy, after heavy snow and snow-laden tree branches and power lines caused problems, Aurora Energy said.
More than 1400 homes remained without power about 7pm and residents were told to prepare to be without power overnight.
All schools in Queenstown and Arrowtown were closed for the day, keeping families inside until the afternoon when the snow slowed down and children could start making snow men and heading out sledding.
The Lindis Pass was closed for several hours during the day, while the Crown Range road, between Queenstown and Wanaka was open but all vehicles were required to fit chains.
Glenorchy Rd was closed for most of the day because of snowladen trees falling on the road and would likely remain closed overnight.
Further afield, snow fell throughout the morning on the road to Milford Sound, Te Anau, Manapouri and inland parts of Southland.
MetService meteorologist Angus Hines said the low pressure system that brought the snow was moving quickly away to the south east and would be replaced by a high pressure system over much of the South Island for today and tomorrow.
‘‘It will be pretty chilly. There will be cold starts for inland and coastal areas.’’
By the end of the week a weather system from the southwest could bring more snow to high areas, he said.
The weather pattern was not unusual for spring.
‘‘It was about 18 degrees [Celsius] in Queenstown on the weekend, then you wake up on Monday and everything is covered in snow.’’