Winter is coming this weekend — with heavy snow forecast to blanket parts of the South Island.
But that didn't necessarily translate to chilly times for everyone in the country.
MetService has issued a heavy snow watch for the Canterbury High Country south of the Rangitata River from 3pm tomorrow to 12pm on Sunday; and the southern Lakes, and Central Otago north of Alexandra from 6am tomorrow to 6am on Sunday.
Heavy snowfall was possible and might approach – or exceed – warning criteria, MetService said.
"Large accumulations are possible in watch areas and may be upgraded to an orange warning."
An orange warning was a call-to-action to prepare for incoming bad weather, such as heavy rain, strong wind or heavy snow.
Meanwhile, a road snowfall warning was in place for Porters Pass (SH73) from 9pm tomorrow to 7am on Sunday; Haast Pass (SH6) from midnight tonight to 6am on Sunday; Lindis Pass (SH8) from 12pm tomorrow to 10am on Sunday; Crown Range Rd from 8am to 5pm on Saturday; and Milford Rd (SH94) from 7am to 1pm on Saturday.
It was a different picture further north, where ridge of high pressure would mean the North Island and the top of the South Island were largely bright and settled. And while low overnight temperatures were expected, it was not expected to dip to the lows feltlast week.
Up-to-date information on the latest weather watches and warnings could be found on the MetService website.
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