A spring cold snap shut roads in Otago and Southland overnight due to snow and flooding, and was now heading towards the North Island.
Yesterday MetService warned a cold front moving up the South Island was forecast to bring heavy rain and snow for some areas, and severe weather watches and warnings were issued.
Overnight, New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi said State Highway 87 between Middlemarch and Outram, in Otago was closed due to snow, but has since reopened.
State Highway 96, at Oreti Plains in Southland, between Riverside Rd and Ryan Rd, was still closed due to flooding.
For those using SH96: "A detour is available. Westbound traffic should turn right onto Riverside Road, then left onto Ryan Road, and back onto SH96. The reverse applies for eastbound traffic.
"Snow or flooding are also affecting other roads in Otago and Southland, and care is bring urged from road users," an NZTA spokesperson said.
MetService meteorologist Devlin Lyndon told 1News the cold feature was still sitting from about Buller to Christchurch, "bringing plenty of rain to the west and snow to some of those higher elevations".
Some road snowfall warnings remained in effect until mid-morning, and a heavy rain watch for Buller District was in place until 1pm.
He said the colder air behind the front had seen temperatures drop, providing perfect conditions for a spring snow dump.
"Already today, looking at some of the observations at Mount Cook, for example, it looks to have been about 5cm settled right down to the village there, and a number of other places from Queenstown northward with snow down to low elevations, which has affected a few of the mountain passes there."
As for rainfall, Lyndon said there had not been "any massive accumulation", but that some places would "certainly be feeling a bit damp this morning".
"The likes of Franz Josef, we're looking at about 58.2mm over the past 12 to 24 hours, Westport 44mm, Milford Sound 20.9mm, so that's sort of the range we're looking at."
Looking forward, he said the front bringing heavy rain and snow was "expected to continue moving forward through today and eventually make its way onto the North Island late afternoon or early evening".
He said this could impact areas such as Wellington, Taranaki, as well as western parts of the northern half of the North Island, including Auckland and Northland as well.
"But it's pretty fast. It'll likely bring rain to many northern areas of the North Island through Friday, but it does move on by the end of Friday," he said.
Current watches and warnings
Heavy Rain Watch
Buller District – expires at 1pm.
Road Snowfall Warnings
Lewis Pass (SH7) – expires at 2pm.
Arthur's Pass (SH73) – expires at 10am.
Porters Pass (SH73) – expires at 11am.
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