Snow fell to low levels overnight in parts of the Canterbury High Country and Queenstown Lakes District and to higher levels in Southland and Otago.
MetService meteorologist Dan Corrigan said there had been a few centimetres of snow inland from Dunedin and the Crown Range.
Southland and southern Otago could expect lesser amounts of snow throughout the day to 400m, he said.
Snow showers are expected to affect Lewis Pass (SH7) until 8pm, and road snowfall warnings were in place for Arthur's Pass and Porters Pass to 11am.
Strong wind that buffeted much of the country overnight has eased, with an orange warning in place only for Banks Peninsula, where gale southwesterlies are forecast from 10am today to 2pm Wednesday.