Snow blanketed Arthur's Pass on 19 August, 2024. Photo: Forest & Bird/Geoff Keey
Major roads affected by the wild weather will remain closed overnight, while snow warnings continue through to Tuesday.
A heavy snow watch is in place for Central Otago for six hours from 9pm Monday to 3am Tuesday.
Snowfall could approach warning criteria in places above about 300 metres, MetService said.
Multiple snowfall road warnings have also been issued.
- Crown Range Road for 12 hours from 9pm Monday to 9am Tuesday, with up to 1cm of snow forecast to accumulate
- Milford Road for 19 hours from 9pm Monday to 4pm Tuesday, with up to 2cm of snow forecast to accumulate
- SH1 from Dunedin to Waitati for 5 hours from 9pm Monday to 2am Tuesday, with up to 1cm of snow forecast to accumulate above 100m
- Desert Road for 3 hours from 9pm to midnight, with up to 3cm of snow forecast to accumulate
Meanwhile, widespread frost was forecast across much of the South Island and the central and eastern North Island on Tuesday morning, MetService said.
Even those in urban areas should prepare to rug up warm with temperatures dipping well below zero, like the -4°C start to the day expected in Christchurch.
Snow-covered trees. Photo: Forest & Bird/Geoff Keey
Overnight road closures
State Highway 2 between Waiotahi Valley Back Road and Paerata Ridge Road near Ōpōtiki was closed due to a large slip at Waiotahe Beach.
The Transport Agency said the slip was still moving on Monday afternoon, making it unsafe for any repairs beyond a geotechnical risk assessment.
Pōhutukawa trees above the slip face were very precarious and needed to be removed before any slip clearance could begin, it said.
Arborists were set to start removing the dangerous trees on Tuesday morning allowing NZTA contractors to begin clearing the earth and debris as soon as it was safe to do so.
State Highway 56 between Tane Road and Alve Road in Ōpiki will also remain closed overnight due to flooding, until at least late Tuesday afternoon when it will be reassessed.
River levels above threshold levels around the Waihenga Bridge in the Wairarapa is also forcing the closure of State Highway 53 overnight.
Meanwhile, wind gusts reached 141kmph at Nugget Point in Otago and 105kmph at Cape Reinga at the top of the country on Monday.
The Moutoa floodgates also remained open overnight to continue relieving pressure on the Manawatū River.
Horizons Regional Council incident controller Sarah Carswell said rainfall across the region has eased since the weekend, with no rain warnings currently in place and scattered showers forecast for the next few days.
"Looking at current river levels and forecast rain, we expect the gates to remain open overnight," she said.
What's coming next?
Sunshine on Wednesday would provide a welcome break from the cold with a ridge of high pressure bringing settled weather and double-digit daytime temperatures for most regions.
But winds and wet weather were forecast to increase over the South Island on Thursday, gradually spreading to the North Island by Friday and Saturday.
"To go from snow to sunshine back to blustery winds all in a matter of days? It's yo-yo weather at its finest," MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said.