It's been a very cold day for many in the South Island, although the October snow dump has provided some memorable experiences for holiday makers.
Snow has fallen in parts of Southland, Central Otago and South Canterbury in an unusual cold snap, with Christchurch possibly to get its first October snow in decades.
The cold is expected to hit Wellington later this evening.
1News captured lambs bravely dealing with the conditions in the Ashburton district and near Fairlie in South Canterbury.
Auckland's Anna Lin was on a six-day trip from Christchurch to Queenstown and said the snow added to the experience. Her group had pulled over at a lookout on the Geraldine-Fairlie highway.
"It makes you happy!"
Also enjoying the conditions was Palmerston North's Charlotte Szuldak, six. She was making a snowman with her family.
Mark Patterson of Federated Farmers Otago said because they had good warning of the conditions, farmers were able to move their lambing ewes to the best sheltered paddocks.
“If this had struck two or three weeks ago it would have been really serious in terms of stock losses.”
1News meteorologist Dan Corbett said the cold is likely to ease from tomorrow night, with some frosty mornings but milder temperatures over the weekend.
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