© Oliver StedingDovedale, looking towards Mt Arthur
Heavy snow, sleet and high winds made conditions treacherous throughout the country and motorists were urged to avoid all but urgent travel.
The South Island was hardest hit with many roads closed, flights cancelled and people told to stay home.
A number of state highways around the country were closed, however many are now re-opening and will be reassessed in the morning.
For the full list of closures visit NZTA .
Wellington also recorded its lowest temperature ever and the polar storm is taking another swipe at the North Island tonight.
Concerns in Christchurch
Christchurch City Council is extremely concerned about frost forecast tonight and is urging people to drive with care. Contractors are applying grit to roads in the hill suburbs and other known trouble spots overnight.
The big chill is also a fresh headache for those living in the quake-hit eastern suburbs of Christchurch.
"We're very cold, feel a bit abandoned," one Avonside resident told ONE News.
Bexley Resident Leanne Curtis told ONE News the chill just added to the worries.
"No power and people are cold, just another horrendous nightmare added on top of it."
Sumner beach has been coated in snow, and in nearby Brighton the snow is so thick the sand dunes have disappeared.
Now there are worries for when the snow thaws out.
"First thoughts were this is beautiful then thoughts were what's going to happen when this thaws out, going to be lethal around here, got no stormwater, just going to be floating on water," says resident Sue Holmes.
North of Christchurch, farmers were expecting the bad weather but were still surprised at its force.
"I didn't think it would be quite as heavy as this, normally here we don't get the snow, it goes around us," farmer Keith Flay told ONE News.
"We've been here 10 years and this is the worst we've had it since we've been here," he said.
The priority for most farmers was to keep stock fed. "They seem to be ok... but they're not going to get grass," said Stephen Brown.
Most Power Restored in Canterbury
Orion has now restored power to all but about 50 customers in Christchurch and central Canterbury after the snow storm cut power to parts of the city and rural areas.
About 1700 customers were without power in parts of Marshland and Burwood early this afternoon, and other areas affected included Spencerville, Bishopdale, Harewood, Tai Tapu and Rolleston.
Pockets of Harewood, Spencerville, Tai Tapu and Little River remained without power.
Orion crews will work overnight where access allows to restore power to these areas however residents currently without power are being warned to be prepared for a night without power.
Orion general manager Rob Jamieson says access is difficult for lines crews in some areas due to heavy snow.
"The crews will do what they can tonight to restore power, however our first priority is their safety while working in these extreme conditions."
Orion says people can find updates on the outages on its website and via Twitter through their mobile phones.
Roads Treacherous
Southland roads are in a treacherous state and the public is being advised to stay home and avoid all non-essential travel.
Emergency Management Southland said anyone who had to travel in hill country areas should carry chains and fit them where necessary.
"You have to assume that all country roads will be marginal, if not impassable," said Neil Cruickshank.
"The roads are treacherous and footpaths are very slippery everywhere."
The NZ Transport Agency says motorists should watch for ice and grit in shaded areas and carry chains if travelling the alpine passes.
The agency is warning of black ice in Otago and Southland and recommends only essential travel in these regions. Lincoln University is also closed.
State Highway 1 between Invercargill and Dunedin re-opened after being closed between Gore and Clinton. State Highway 94, the road from Te Anau into Milford Sound, has also reopened.
Information is also available at Civil Defence.
Flights Cancelled
Most flights in and out of Christchurch Airport today were cancelled due to snow today, however the runways are now clear and a few flights are still operating.
Two domestic Jetstar flights are due to come in to Christchurch Airport this evening and a Pacific Blue flight will come in from Sydney at midnight.
All Air New Zealand flights into and out of Christchurch are cancelled for the rest of the day.
"We have two graders and a snow plow working continuously on the runways, but as fast as they clear the snow, it builds up again," said Geoff Eban, the incident controller at Christchurch airport.
The Singapore Airlines flight that was diverted to Auckland this morning will return to Christchurch tomorrow morning with its passengers. Emirates is also planning normal operations tomorrow morning.
Snow is still expected through the evening and airport staff will work through the night to clear parking gates for aircraft tomorrow morning.
There is some risk of ice through the night and travellers are asked to check with their airlines before coming to the airport.
Dunedin Airport is open for all flights apart from those going to and from Christchurch.
The airport reopened at 1.30 this afternoon.
Flights to and from Auckland and Wellington are also back up and running.
However, passengers are being warned to expect delays as the backlog from disruption earlier in the day is cleared.
Chilly Further North
The snow crept as far north as Palmerston North, Hawera and Stratford, and Hawke's Bay today.
Conditions are also treacherous in many other parts of the North Island, with the SH2 Rimutaka Hill Road closed and unlikely to reopen today. The Desert Road is also closed (SH1) as well as the alternate route from Waiouru to Taihape - SH5.
Snow is also being seen on the hills of Wellington suburbs - including Tawa, Johnsonville, Karori and Kelburn. Further north, it's also on the hills in Masterton.
Forecasters say snow could even hit the central city - the last time snow was seen in Wellington CBD was 1994.
MetService is warning that the central North Island from Taupo to Taihape, including inland Wanganui and Manawatu, will see surges of snow right through until midnight.
It is predicting 10-20cm could fall above 600 metres and 5-10cm down to 200 metres.
Snow Enthusiasts Happy
Central Otago residents were all but cut off from the rest of the country as heavy snow closed roads and Queenstown Airport.
However thousands of skiers and boarders in the area have enjoyed an epic powder day on skifields.
Today's snow storm dumped light as air powder on The Remarkables and on nearby Coronet Peak.
Around 4,500 people made the most of the conditions, with 40 centimetres falling on The Remarkables and more than 25 centimetres on Coronet Peak in the past 24 hours.
"There were lots of 'yahoos', lots of excited people, smiles and high fives out there today with fresh snow just adding to the good times," said The Remarkables ski area manager Ross Lawrence.
Reader Comments
to our Newsletter