Spring snow for cooler temperatures in South Canterbury

Overnight temperatures are forecast to plummet in south Canterbury after the snow has given a cold start to spring.

Snow fell lower than was forecast Monday night and Twizel, Fairlie, Albury, Geraldine, Pleasant Point, Temuka and Winchester received a white cape that led to the closure of several schools.

MetService meteorologist Peter Little said the worst of the weather had moved through south Canterbury on Tuesday morning giving way to clear skies and freezing temperatures across the region overnight on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Little said Timaru could expect a low of -1 degrees Celsius overnight Tuesday and -2 degrees overnight Wednesday.

Temperatures in Mackenzie are forecast to drop to around -4 ° C overnight on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Meanwhile, farmers also hoped that the short, strong winter gust would not affect the calving season too much.

Federated Farmers South Canterbury President Jason Grant said that while the 10 millimeters of snow that had fallen would be hard on the young lambs, he was not yet aware of the losses.

“The snow has fallen lower than anticipated and that will be quite difficult for some farmers who are in the middle of labor right now.

“But the farmers are pretty good at picking out places to put their livestock and shelter them. The lambs will be fine.”

Grant said a decrease in sheep numbers south of Canterbury meant that the heavier snow in the Canterbury foothills would not have as large an impact as it normally would in that region.

“The further you go back in the foothills, the delivery is delayed a bit, so a lot of people won’t have started giving birth yet …

“I’m pretty sure this will be a short, cutting gust and I hope the snow is over by the end of today.”

Schools closed

Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Enabling and Industry Support Katrina Casey said 19 Canterbury schools and three early learning services had notified them of the closure on Tuesday.

They were: Ashburton Borough, Albury, Carew Peel Forest, Fairlie Primary School, Geraldine High School, Geraldine Primary School, Mackenzie College, Mayfield, Methven Primary School, Mt Hutt College, Mt Somers Springburn, Our Lady of the Snows, Pleasant Point, Sheffield , Springfield School, St Joseph’s School, Winchester Rural School, Windwhistle School, Woodbury. Closed Early Learning Services: Methven Preschool, Geraldine Kindergarten, Leap Ahead Methven.

Winter driving conditions

New Zealand Transportation Agency senior media manager Andy Knackstedt said all roads in South Canterbury were open Tuesday, including state highway 80 to Aoraki / Mt Cook, which reopened around noon.

“We have a winter driving condition advisory for SH79 into Fairlie from SH1.”

Knackstedt also reminds motorists to be extra careful on the roads and to stay up-to-date on weather and road conditions.

Blizzard conditions

The Mt Dobson and Roundhill ski areas were closed with visibility and blizzard conditions initially reported. The temperature in Mt Dobson minus 4 degrees at 6 am Tuesday with 10 cm of new snow reported.

Roundhill in Tekapo now has a 30-40cm snow base after a 10cm fall Monday night.

“It looks good and we should be open tomorrow with a good day expected.”

He said fall would help them get through the season finale on September 13.

Closed Highway

The Waimate District Council reported Tuesday afternoon that the Hakataramea Pass (on the Waimate and Mackenzie sides) was closed until further notice due to snow.