Many parts of the country have been lashed by heavy rain and wintery weather this morning, with major highways closed across the South Island and a front moving east across the motu.
Heavy rain has lashed upper parts of the South Island and Wellington, and snow has closed some South Island highways.
Photo: 123rf
Wellington and Marlborough were the worst affected, with people warned to take extra care.
MetService meteorologist Dan Corrigan said Marlborough had recorded the most rainfall so far.
“Places around Marlborough have seen between 90 and 100mm of rain, especially around the Rai Valley, Wairau Valley, and in the Richmond Range, [places] around there have the heaviest rain for our observation network, for the past 24 hours.”
Canterbury and Wellington Radar from early this morning shows heavy rain in Central NZ nicely. If you look closely, you can spot the strong southerly change through Wellington. Also notice that the rain (and snow) is gradually clearing from the South Island this morning. pic.twitter.com/cl8JorgCe2
— MetService (@MetService) July 30, 2022
Snow, slips and flooding shut down major South Islands roads
People travelling on South Island roads have been urged to take extra care and be prepared for delays.
Flooding and slips forced the closure of State Highway 1 through Seddon on Saturday night, with it remaining closed into Sunday.
Both Arthur’s and Lindis passes (SH6 and SH7) were closed due to snow, and heavy snow was also expected to accumulate on Porter’s Pass (SH73).
One of our forecasters based in Christchurch has sent in these photos of Hanmer Springs this morning. An estimated 6-10cm snow depth here. https://t.co/Yjbq0jgaoz pic.twitter.com/lubkCQnpIS
— MetService (@MetService) July 30, 2022
A heavy snow warning was in place for inland Marlborough and northern parts of the Canterbury High Country, Corrigan said.
“We’re expecting pockets of snow down to 200 or even 100m in those places”.
Snow had already fallen to low levels in places.
“We have had reports of snow in Methven, which is down between 300 and 350m above mean sea level,” he said.
A large boulder that fell into the road at Barrytown, on the West Coast, on Saturday, blocked an area of State Highway 6, but has now been cleared.
Photo: Supplied / NZ Police
Wet, windy weekend weather for the North Island
Waka Kotahi warned there was flooding and slips on some roads in Wellington
In the central North Island a road snowfall warning was expected to be in place for the Desert Road until 3pm Sunday.
And snow could fall in some areas, down to 800m.
A high pressure system moving across the country was expected to bring nicer weather later this week.
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