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A pickup truck skidded on the ice before falling 5 meters from a bridge as snow and cold temperatures rioted the South Island on Tuesday.
In the north, Auckland’s Harbor Bridge was closed for more than an hour due to strong gusts as strong winds hit the top of the country and a tree crushed four cars in Hamilton, but no one was injured.
MetService said snow and cold southwesterly winds had been easing off the South Island since mid-afternoon, and weather alerts and warnings had been lifted.
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Kenmure Rd in Mornington, Dunedin, Tuesday morning.
He warned that driving conditions could still be dangerous and that there will likely be ice on many roads overnight and Wednesday morning.
The western gales were still affecting Central Hawke’s Bay and the Tararua district, and a warning would remain in effect throughout the night.
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A large fallen tree caused traffic delays in Little River, between Christchurch and Akaroa. State Highway 75, near Morrisons Rd, was reduced to a single lane, with traffic control measures in place.
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Queues of traffic on Auckland’s Harbor Bridge on Tuesday morning.
The Waka Kotahi NZ Transportation Agency (NZTA) said that road users should expect delays and take special care on the road until it is clear.
Local MetService Auckland meteorologist Georgina Griffiths said the strongest gust on the Auckland Harbor Bridge on Tuesday was 98km / h, coming from the west. It was shortly before 7 a.m., when the cold front that had caused problems further south was moving through the city.
By late morning, the gusts had decreased to be consistently around 75km / h.
“Tonight the winds drop pretty fast, then we will have light winds for the next four days,” Griffiths said.
The deep low that caused the stormy weather had passed well south of New Zealand. It was not unusual to have such deep lows in the Southern Ocean, the difference this time was that it brought in air from the Antarctic ice sheet, she said.
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The hillside suburbs of the city became a winter wonderland.
MetService recorded gusts of 76km / h at Waterview, 72km / h at Auckland Airport, 80km / h at Whangaparaoa and 70km / h at Whenuapai.
The maximum wind gusts recorded at Niwa weather stations were 93 km / h at Sky Tower, 61 km / h at Western Springs, 59 km / h at Māngere, and 50 km / h at Albany.
Snow started falling to sea level in Dunedin around 8 a.m. Tuesday and covered the ground in white in about 20 minutes. It had cleared mostly by 1pm, but was still visible in the hills above the city.
Temperatures remained in the low single digits with sporadic snowfall.
A truck accident occurred on SH1, south of Dunedin, around 7 am. The two men in the vehicle were taken to Dunedin Hospital as a precaution.
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A large tree fell on four cars parked in a parking lot near the Claudelands Bridge in Hamilton.
Further south, a police spokesman said there had been “a lot of weather-related chaos” Tuesday morning.
Trucks had slipped and blocked the road on SH1 between Clinton and Balclutha, and three trucks had gotten stuck in the snow between Lawrence and Waitahuna on SH8.
Several vehicles were stuck in the Manuka Gorge on SH8 due to ice. Contractors were sent to assess the roads, he said.
Southland Mayor Gary Tong said he had been in the region for 39 years and had never seen hurricane-force winds come and go in the same way before.
“It’s real snow and hail,” Tong told RNZ on Tuesday morning.
Barry Harcourt / Stuff
A young lamb hugs its mother trying to keep warm after a second night snowfall Monday night near Te Anau.
“It certainly is having an effect on our cattle, calves and lambs, and on our crops that have just been planted.”
However, he noted that farmers had a good warning of bad weather and had prepared and moved livestock where they could.
“It’s usually the first week of September that we get a little bit of a belt, but having it near the end is quite unusual and, as I say, the wind is extreme.”
Martin De Ruyter / Things
Snow in Bryant Range with houses in Stoke in the foreground.
Snow also fell on the hills in the Nelson area.
Nelson Bays farmer Tom Sturgess said snow fell to low levels near his farm, in the main division near Quartz Range-Aorere.
She was in the middle of labor, but the animals were doing as well as could be expected, she said.
Amber Joyce / Supplied
Brother and sister Noah, 4, and Pippa Joyce, 7, of Otautau, play in the snow in their backyard with their pet Annie.
Several roads on the South Island were affected by snow for much of Tuesday, including the SH7 (Lewis Pass).
All had reopened at 4 p.m. except SH93 (Clinton to Mataura) and SH94 in Milford Sound, where planned avalanches had been triggered to release loads of snow onto the road safely while the road was closed.
The snow came as Christchurch fell to -1.5 degrees Celsius overnight on Monday, compared to the average of 4.5 ° C for this time of year, while Wānaka fell to -2.7 ° C and Blenheim to 1.8 ° C.
Kimberly Simpson / Supplied
Snow covered Gore Tuesday morning.
Temperatures were expected to drop again on the South Island on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, but warm temperatures would return later in the week, MetService forecaster Sonja Farmer said.
“It will be a big change in temperatures and weather conditions.”
She said the erratic weather conditions were being caused by a low pressure weather system below the South Island.
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Snow fell 200 meters in the Nelson region, covering hills around central and suburban areas.
“The low in the south is drawing cold air from the Southern Ocean and then sweeping across the country. There are many fronts that bring rain, wind and cold air. “
Cardrona ski field general manager Bridget Legnasky said about 40cm of fresh snow fell on the field near Wānaka on Monday and there might be more.
Remarkables ski area manager Ross Lawrence said about 20 inches of new snow fell on the field in 36 hours, and he expected more.
Coronet Peak season pass holders would enjoy one last blast on the mountain for a couple of “powder snow hours.”
Barry Harcourt / Stuff
More snow is expected on the South Island this week, like this blizzard that caught motorists at Gorge Hill near Te Anau on Monday.
The ski field was officially closed on Sunday, but a large amount of spring snow encouraged the management to reopen from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Wednesday. Only the Coronet Express chairlift would open and there would be no toilet, no cafes or buses, spokeswoman Libby Baron said.
“This spring snow is too good to lose, so we decided to open … an opportunity for the locals to achieve those last laps.”
Canterbury’s Mt Hutt Ski Area Manager James McKenzie said the mountain received about 4 inches of fresh snow on Monday.
The chairlift operator on the Mt Ruapehu ski slopes said the 10-15cm snow forecast for the next few days was “great news.”
Kavinda Herath / Things
Conrad Saunders, 7, and Charlotte Saunders, 5, playing in the snow Tuesday morning at Winton.
