7 Nov 2020

Late spring snow predicted for South Island mountain ranges

12:38 pm on 7 November 2020

It may be November, but snow is expected to fall on the South Island's main mountain passes tonight.

Snow has settled at the summit of the Crown Range Road this morning, 23/7/2020/

Snow is expected on Crown Range Rd near Queenstown and other mountain roads in the South Island this weekend. Photo: MetService

MetService predicts snow will fall above 500m on Porters Pass early on Sunday and could reach 15cm deep near the summit between 2am and 1pm.

Snow is expected above 600m on Arthur's Pass early on Sunday. Between 2am and 11am, up to 6cm of snow could accumulate near the summit.

No caption

Photo: MetService

On Lewis Pass, snow could fall above 700m, with up to 5cm of snow gathering above 800m between 7am and 3pm Sunday

Snow is forecast on the higher parts of Lindis Pass from 11pm on Saturday until 3am on Sunday.

The Kaikōura Ranges could also see snowfall above 800m on Sunday morning.

Snow is expected to affect Crown Range Rd near Queenstown from 9pm tonight until 2am Sunday, with up to 2cm of snow settling above 900m.

From tonight until early tomorrow, heavy rain could fall at Mount Taranaki and the Nelson ranges west of Motueka.

Tomorrow, heavy rain could also fall in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, western Gisborne, the Central North Island high-country, the Kaikōura Ranges, and North Canterbury.

Get the RNZ app

for ad-free news and current affairs