Extreme conditions in South Island, New Zealand

Worse still to come.

Snow falls as cold snap strikes south

An icy winter storm takes a grip on the country.

Stuff,

20 June, 2013

Snow and flooding have hit the South Island as an icy winter storm takes a grip on the country - and forecasters are picking worse to come.

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Many communities across Canterbury, Otago and Southland have woken to heavy snow falls and torrential rain, causing roads and schools to be closed and flights cancelled. Many hill passes are shut, and central Otago town Naseby is cut off.

See a list of closed roads and cancelled flights here.

MetService Duty forecaster Nicole Ranger said observers had reported about 34cm of snow in the Lake Heron area west of Methven overnight, which was 700m above sea level.

Darfield, to the west of Christchurch, had seen about 3cm of snow, while other parts of the Canterbury plains above 400m had seen up to 5cm.

The Canterbury Weather Updates Facebook page has reported snow falling overnight across mid and North Canterbury, including Ashburton, Fairlie, Oxford, Darfield, Loburn and Waiau.

Snow had also blanketed Naseby in one of the heaviest falls long-time resident Stuart Hore had seen in his 75 years.

Roads into the town were blocked, but residents were used to looking after themselves when that happened, Hore said.

Snow started to fall yesterday evening, and by mid-morning today it was around 43cm deep and still snowing, he said.

Hore, who had spent most of his life in the town, had only seen only two other snowfalls of similar size.

"Normally we get several snowfalls of 4 to 6 inches (10-15cm). This is a bit unusual," he said.

"Hopefully we'll get some paths cut out and vehicles back on the road within a day or so."

Ranger said snow was expected near Christchurch above 100 metres, with heavier falls forecast above 300m.

Forecasters were this morning keeping an eye on a developing low pressure centre off Kaikoura which was expected to wind things up over the next 24 hours.

As it developed, a biting southeasterly wind would increase up the Canterbury coast to gale force in places, bringing heavy rain and sleet to areas below about 200 metres and deep snow above that level in the form of blizzards.

MetService spokesman Daniel Corbett said the "crunch time" in this three-day-plus event would be from this afternoon until about midday tomorrow.

After that, the polar wind was expected to ease slowly. But heavy snow showers were likely right down to near sea-level.

"You could see some snow right down on the ground in Christchurch but we mustn't forget about the amounts of rain that could fall - 60 to 90mm - and what that could do to those places nearer the coast."

MetService warned that up to 175mm of rain was likely in southern Marlborough.

FLOODING CLOSES SCHOOLS, ROADS

A landslide left a woman in the Dunedin suburb of Blanket Bay unable to leave her property overnight after it covered her driveway and a falling tree crushed her car.

Residents of two other houses were evacuated for safety reasons, Dunedin Senior Sergeant Ed Baker said.

Flooding was causing problems on State Highway 1 north and south of the city, with the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) warning drivers caution was needed.

Tips on how to drive in icy and snowy conditions.

Flooding had also caused two crashes on State Highway 1 in Timaru at the intersection of Falveys Rd before 8am this morning.

Homes in the town of Leeston, in the Selwyn District south of Christchurch, had been swamped, with local schools closed and residents being asked to reduce water usage and toilet flushing.

Heavy rain overnight burst the local creek bed, flooding about eight homes and sending firefighters to their aid with sand bags.

Leeston Volunteer Fire Brigade chief Noel Thian said the local town creek had overflowed ''and of course it's just going into houses''.

Crews were busy sandbagging around eight houses and lifting appliances off garage floors, he said.

Streets around the town were also flooded, forcing Leeston School and Ellesmere College to close for the day.

A Selwyn District Council spokeswoman said residents living in Leeston and Doyleston were asked to minimise toilet flushing and water usage after heavy rain overnight affected the towns' sewerage systems.

Bad weather had also seen several schools closed in South Canterbury. See a list of closed schools here.