Heavy rain and wintry weather has ravaged many parts of the country this morning, with major highways closed over the South Island and a front moving east across the motu.
Wellington and Marlborough were the hardest hit, and people were warned to be extra careful.
MetService meteorologist Dan Corrigan said Marlborough has recorded the most rain so far.
“There has been between 90-100mm of rain in places around Marlborough, especially around the Rai Valley, Wairau Valley and in the Richmond Range, [places] that’s where we’ve had the heaviest rain for our observation network in the past 24 hours.”
In Dunedin, snow could fall up to 600 meters overnight and a frosty start to Monday is expected further inland.
Snow, slips and floods flatten major roads in the Southern Isles
People traveling on the roads in the north of the South Island have been urged to take extra care and be prepared for delays.
Floods and skids forced the closure of State Highway 1 through Seddon on Saturday night, and remained closed until Sunday.
Both Arthur’s and Lindis Passes (SH6 and SH7) were closed due to snow and heavy snowfall was also expected at Porter’s Pass (SH73).
There was a heavy snow warning for the interior of Marlborough and the northern parts of the Canterbury High Country, Corrigan said.
“We expect snow up to 200 or even 100 meters high in those places”.
In some places the snow had already fallen to a low level.
“We’ve had reports of snow in Methven, which is between 300 and 350 meters above sea level,” he said.
A large boulder that fell into the road near Barrytown, on the west coast, continued to block an area of State Highway 6. Police warned it was not expected to be cleared before 12 noon on Sunday.
Wind watch for later in the week
MetService has released strong wind watches for the coastal areas of Otago, Canterbury and Southland for tomorrow and Tuesday.
Strong northwest winds could approach gale force winds on Monday evening in exposed areas in Southland and Clutha, while Otago and Canterbury could expect the same on Tuesday morning.
However, the wind will bring warmer temperatures in the south, with Dunedin expecting 16 degrees on Tuesday.