Dunedin has thawed from yesterday's polar blast with police reporting no problems on the roads.
All roads in the city have now reopened and the snow caution has been lifted for the Northern Motorway.
In contrast to yesterday morning schools opened on time today and buses ran as normal.
Inland, a forecast frost for much of snow-covered Otago prompted a warning for motorists to take care on the region's roads this morning.
Warnings are in place for a number of inland highways. For the latest updates click here
The Clutha District Council says motorists should continue to take care in the Clutha District today due to slippery/slushy conditions.
Roads in the West Otago high country are also particularly slippery/slushy, with graders working in the area today.
Extra care should also be taken on Finlayson Road, between Waihola and Taieri Mouth, and Bull Creek Road, east of Milton.
In Queenstown all roads are open - with chains to be carried on the Crown Range - but widespread ice is expected and the QLDC is urging extreme care.
Black ice was expected to make driving difficult, Metservice duty forecaster John Law said.
"If you are driving at all, you should take extra care and remember it is cold and icy and will make driving difficult in places," he said.
Temperatures are expected to reach double digits in Dunedin today, a far cry from yesterday when the mercury in the central city reached just 2.8degC.
Queenstown recorded just 0.3degC.
Snow showers, which left much of the South blanketed yesterday, were expected to ease last night.
Today is forecast to be mainly dry in the region after a frosty start, apart from showers in Clutha.
Up to 15cm of snow fell in Dunedin hill suburbs yesterday, making driving treacherous in places and prompting an advisory notice from police for motorists.
Senior Sergeant Steve Aitken said roads were expected to freeze and "could be treacherous" for motorists.
And so it proved for dozens of motorists who abandoned stranded or damaged vehicles yesterday.
The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) closed some state highways for a time yesterday. Dunedin's Northern Motorway was reopened at 4.30pm, much to the relief of the backlog of motorists.
Dunedin City Council roading maintenance engineer Peter Standring said there was limited gritting of Dunedin roads yesterday, with a focus on sweeping and clearing roads.
However, contractors were on stand-by with de-icing agent CMA, grit and sweeping trucks.
Bus services were limited, while schools and most early childhood centres elected to close their doors.
Snow business meant no business for much of Dunedin and the wider region yesterday.
"It is a substantial inconvenience for employees and employees alike, and the first snow always seems to catch people by surprise," Otago Chamber of Commerce chief executive John Christie said yesterday.
The chamber encouraged employers to have snow policies detailing expectations in case of such weather events, he said.
While the University of Otago remained open, the neighbouring Otago Polytechnic elected to close.
Banks and post offices were open in Dunedin yesterday, but many businesses closed for the day.
Air New Zealand said snow delayed some services to and from Dunedin, and heavy snow showers caused widespread cancellations at Queenstown.
About 800 passengers travelling to and from Queenstown were affected by cancellations.
Snow and icy road conditions prevented mail deliveries across large parts of Otago. New Zealand Post spokesman Michael Tull said mail was not delivered in Dunedin, Queenstown or Alexandra, but deliveries in the Balclutha, Oamaru, Cromwell and Wanaka areas were unaffected.
The Otago Daily Times reached all but a few mailboxes around the region. ODT circulation manager Kevin McGregor said the only area to miss out was Middlemarch, after chains on a delivery truck snapped.
Skified operators rejoiced as up to 30cm of snow fell yesterday. About 15cm was recorded elsewhere around the region.
Snow was widespread around Clutha, and West Otago, the Owaka Valley and Slopedown, near Clinton, received falls of up to 20cm.
Farmers spent the day checking on stock and putting out supplementary feed. Those spoken to by the ODT said they had plenty of warning before the snow arrived.
About 6cm of snow fell in Alexandra, forcing all schools to close for the day.
PowerNet said dozens of customers across Otago-Southland experienced weather-related outages between 10am on Monday and 9am yesterday.
The majority of customers had power restored within an hour of the fault being reported, while a further 900 customers were subject to a "momentary loss of supply".
North Otago escaped the snow, but Palmerston schools were closed because teachers were unable to get through from Dunedin.
Queenstown Lakes District Council transport manager Denis Mander said contractors would back at work from 5.30am today, with temperatures expected to drop to -6degC overnight, creating ice issues.
