snow
A dusting of snow has sprinkled the higher peaks in the lower South Island.

It's part of a wild weather system that has caused widespread flooding in the deep south, leading to mass evacuations in Gore and Mataura and Wyndham.


MetService meteorologist Tahlia Crabtree said there had been reports of snow at The Remarkables in Queenstown, the mountain in the Mt Cook region, and at Ōhau skifield in the foothills of the Southern Alps.

Crabtree said cool air had moved across the South Island on Wednesday morning, lowering the freezing level.


She said it was not especially unusual for some snow at this time of year, particularly on the higher peaks, as they got lots of cool air over summer, but it was dependent on it happening while there was precipitation as well.

Ōhau Lodge general manager Mike Neilson said the snow was not an everyday occurrence over summer but it typically happened at some stage during the warmer season.