There are several heavy snow watches in place for parts of the South Island. Photo: Screenshot / MetService
A cold front is expected to bring a decent dumping of snow to parts of the South Island on Saturday.
A heavy snow watch was in place in Fiordland, Central Otago's southern lakes, the Canterbury High Country and Southland, with snow lowering to 200 metres in some areas, MetService said.
There were also snowfall warnings for Lindis Pass with up to 10cm of snow expected near the summit and Haast Pass with up to 3cm of snow forecast on the road south of the summit.
Crown Range Road could see up to 4cm of snow near the summit, Porters Pass could have up to 3cm of snow near the summit and Milford Road could have up to 5cm of snow above 700 metres.
"This cold front that's moving in from the south, bringing colder air [and] bringing snow to fairly low levels, probably our first snow event of the year," MetService meteorologist Mickey Malivuk said.
He urged drivers in affected areas to take care.
"People need to be aware because [the snow] may catch people off guard on the roads."