Spring snow to make way for rain
Move over snow and make way for heavy rain across parts of the lower South Island, weather forecasters warn.
Snow as low as 300 to 400 metres was been the dominant weather feature yesterday in a strong, cold southerly airstream.
However, freezing levels are expected to rise today as a pesky depression east of the South Island unusually moves west towards the Otago coast, dragging more heavy, persistent rain with it and bringing slightly milder air.
For now the snow warnings remain in force, with MetService forecasting as much as 40cm of snow could accumulate above 800 metres today, with as much as 10cm settling above 800m on the Crown Range Rd yesterday morning, 15cm on the Lindis Pass, and 12cm on the Milford Road. Some snow is also likely to fall on the Lewis, Arthurs and Porters passes.
State Highway 94 between Te Anau and Milford Sound opened yesterday after a brief closure but could close again at short notice, a NZTA spokeswoman said.
The Crown Range between Queenstown and Wanaka was closed yesterday morning.
MetService severe weather forecaster Andy Downs said midNovember snow was ‘‘unusual, but not unprecedented’’.
The next main concern was the possible lengthy duration of heavy rain along the coast of North Otago and around Dunedin over the next day or so. Between 70mm and 120mm of rain was predicted in parts of eastern Otago until 9pm today, he said.
Yesterday’s snow has delighted visitors.
James Roots, 23, was on holiday in Queenstown from Queensland, Australia. He said he had never seen snow before.
‘‘It doesn’t get below 10 degrees [Celsius] in Queensland, never mind snowing,’’ he said.
‘‘I didn’t think there was going to be snow like this . . . it’s pretty out of control if you ask me.’’
After severe thunderstorms along the east coast of the South Island on Sunday, along with a substantial tornado in Mid Canterbury, more thunderstorms are possible for the much of the east and south of the South Island.
‘‘There’s going to be some convection and a chance of thunderstorms building about eastern areas of the upper South Island in the afternoon and it possibly could be severe,’’ MetService meteorologist Bill Singh said yesterday.
Temperatures and precipitation on Sunday night showed there had been some snow to about 400m in Central Otago and inland Southland mainly.
The snow level was expected to gradually raise to 600m during the day, with the significant amounts expected above 800m, Singh said.
MetService said up to 40cm of snow could fall by 6am today in Central Otago, inland Clutha and Southland.
Heavy falls were also possible above 800m in the Southern Lakes area, eastern Fiordland and inland Dunedin.
Several domestic flights in and out of Queenstown Airport were cancelled yesterday morning.
Downs said the general weather set-up across the South Island was complex.
Small low-pressure centres were swirling around each other to the east of the island, making it difficult to pinpoint how far north the wet and cold weather would move.
Today, periods of heavy rain are possible in coastal areas of Clutha, Dunedin and North Otago.