18 Jul 2014

Snow warning for alpine passes

1:47 pm on 18 July 2014

Motorists crossing alpine passes between Canterbury and the West Coast in the coming days are being advised to take care, with heavy snow expected in the area.

MetService has a severe weather watch in place for Mid and South Canterbury from Friday until Saturday.

It says a slow-moving southerly front will bring heavy snow to inland places, especially about higher parts of Canterbury, south of Darfield.

Motorists using the Lewis and Porter's passes should expect snow showers Friday night and Saturday morning, with up to 5 centimetres likely to settle.

A few snow showers are possible in the Arthur's Pass area on Friday but little, if any, is expected to settle on the road.

Further south, in the Lindis Pass, snow showers are expected to develop overnight Friday.