A powerful winter blast has disrupted travel and daily life across parts of New Zealand, with heavy snowfall closing schools, shutting major highways and causing dozens of crashes in Dunedin, while sleet and snow also reached Wellington.
Snow fell to unusually low levels across the eastern South Island on Tuesday, prompting police to urge residents to stay off the roads unless travel was necessary.
"We are asking that everyone avoid travelling, even in areas that aren't experiencing snowfall," a police spokesperson said, as quoted by 1News.
The spokesperson added, "If you are on the road, please drive to the conditions, slow down, keep a safe following distance, exercise patience, and expect delays," as quoted by 1News.
Despite several vehicles sliding off icy roads in Dunedin, authorities said no serious injuries had been reported.
According to a report by 1News, the severe weather forced the cancellation of all Otago Regional Council bus services in Dunedin. At the same time, several sections of State Highway were closed, including State Highway 87 between Outram and Middlemarch and State Highway 1 from Pine Hill to Waitati.
The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) advised motorists to postpone travel where possible and avoid closed routes as hazardous driving conditions continued across much of the region. Snowfall warnings also remained in place for several key mountain passes and highways.
The cold weather extended north to Wellington during the afternoon, with residents reporting snowfall across the central city and surrounding suburbs. MetService later confirmed the precipitation was a mixture of sleet and snow, as reported by 1News.
The weather also affected sea travel, with rough conditions and waves of up to six metres along the Wairarapa coast leading to multiple ferry cancellations. Both Interislander and Bluebridge suspended several Cook Strait sailings due to the heavy swell.
Education was also disrupted, with all primary, intermediate and secondary schools in Dunedin closed for the day, alongside East Otago High School and Lawrence Area School. Several early childhood centres also remained closed or delayed opening, 1News has reported.
The Ministry of Education advised parents to check directly with their schools or childcare providers as conditions continued to change throughout the day.
Speaking to 1News, Acting Senior Sergeant Simon Reay said police attended more than 20 crashes across Dunedin during the day, although none resulted in serious injuries.
"It was only really when it sort of got close to lunchtime that things started to go slushy, and the snow started to melt, and the roads started to open up and be a bit freer for us," as quoted by 1News.
However, he warned that freezing temperatures overnight could make conditions even more dangerous on Wednesday morning.
"The last thing you want after snow is more snow or ice, and the forecast is looking like ice, and it's just going to be a rink out there again tomorrow if that happens."
Reay urged residents to carefully consider whether travel was necessary.
"Our advice to people would be if you can delay going anywhere, please do so. If you don't need to go anywhere, please don't. If you do need to go somewhere, please just take your time, and think about your following distances and expect delays, because it's not the best driving conditions out there."
Meanwhile, Transpower said it was monitoring electricity demand closely as freezing temperatures were expected to push power usage to record levels later this week.
Transpower spokesperson Chantelle Bramley said, "These notices are part of our standard operating process," as quoted by 1News.
She added, "We're monitoring the situation closely, and the industry has responded as anticipated to resolve potential low residuals across the peak morning and evening periods on Wednesday. We are continuing to liaise with the industry to ensure there is enough generation being offered to meet what is forecast to be record electricity demand through the rest of the week," as quoted by 1News.
Bramley said there was currently no expectation of disruptions to household electricity supplies.
"If the situation tightens further across the coming days we will issue additional notices as per established procedures with industry," as quoted by 1News.
For many Dunedin residents, the snowfall came as a surprise, transforming the city into a rare winter landscape.
One resident said, "I wasn't expecting it to actually be settling. It never snows in Dunedin; this is crazy," 1News has quoted.
Another resident, Christie, said the unexpected snowfall changed the day's plans.
"We're just going to chill in bed, maybe watch a movie, and then watch the lectures," as quoted by 1News.
Forecasters expect the cold snap to continue before easing later in the week. Meteorologists say icy Antarctic air moving across the country is likely to bring one of the coldest mornings of the year on Thursday, with temperatures forecast to drop well below freezing in several regions.
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