Contractors are working to grit and clear Dunedin's
snow-covered city streets as the severest cold snap in 16
years hits the country.
Most of the main routes through Dunedin are clear of snow and
ice, although traffic remains light through the central city
as many residents chose to follow the advice of emergency
services to avoid uneccessary travel.
About 90 people remain stranded in Waitati, after they were
forced to leave their vehicles on State Highway 1 on the
northern motorway yesterday afternoon, when a fierce
hailstorm followed by snow and sleet showers hit the Kilmog
Hill about 1pm.
Air travel out of the South Island has been badly disrupted
with flights from Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown
cancelled this morning. Flights at Invercargill airport were
experiencing delays.
In Dunedin, several roads are closed due to snow and ice:
Three Mile Hill, Mt Cargill, Castlewood Rd, Fea St, Corrie
St, Drivers Rd, Pitt st and Royal Tce.
Beyond the city, snow on Otago's state highway network had
been packed to ice by traffic, Roger Bailey, of New Zealand
Transport Agency, told odt.co.nz.
Early this evening, State Highway 87 from Outram to
Middlemarch and State Highway 85 from Palmerston to Kyeburn
were still closed. Caution was advised on State Highway 1
from Palmerston to Dunedin, and motorists travelling on State
Highway 8 from Alexandra to Raes Junction and Shate Highway 8
Omarama to Tarras (Lindis Pass) were advised to carry chains.
The Crown Range was open, but motorists were advised to carry
chains.
Motorists were warned they should watch for grit and ice in
shaded areas throughout Otago and Southland, and those
planning to travel alpine passes of through Central Otago
should carry chains.
The Southern District Health Board postponed most elective
surgery today in Dunedin and Invercargill, the exception
being patients already admitted for procedures at Dunedin
Hospital.
In Queenstown, court has been cancelled for today and
tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Christchurch has felt the brunt of the wintry
blast, with near-blizzard conditions overnight causing many
road closures and the shutdown of the quake-devastated red
zone this morning. The city was expected to receive another
"surge of snow" until about mid afternoon.
A foot of snow has already forced most workers to stay at
home, closed Christchurch Airport and forced the cancelled of
all elective surgery and outpatient clinics.
MetService forecaster Paul Mallinson said New Zealand had not
had a nationwide cold snap of this severity in 16 years.
"It's a real cold one, a 15-to-20-year outbreak ... The last
time we remember snow getting to this low in Wellington is
around 1995."
MetService has lifted heavy snowfall warnings for Fiordland,
Southland, Otago, and the west of Nelson.
Snow has also fallen in unusual parts of the country this
morning, with the Bay of Plenty's Kaimai Ranges, Taupo and
Taranaki all suffering from the wintry bite.
WeatherWatch head analyst Philip Duncan said had been
unconfirmed reports of snow flakes falling on Auckland's Mt
Wellington.
He said reports of snow fall were coming in thick and fast
this morning.
"We've had reports of snow in Lower Hutt and Wellington
overnight and this morning. We've got reports of snow
settling on the cars in Masterton for the last hour, snow at
very lower levels at Lake Taupo and in Taupo itself, snow in
Hawera, Stratford, Taranaki," Mr Duncan said
Mr Duncan said there had also been one unconfirmed report of
snow near Raglan, in Waikato, however there had been very
heavy hail in the region.
"This isn't the snow storm of the century ... but what makes
this system different ... is the low snow level, which is sea
level across much of southern and eastern South Island and to
very low levels right across the lower North Island. This is
a national event," Mr Duncan said.
In Dunedin, police were kept busy dealing with minor road
accidents brought on by the treacherous driving conditions
around the city yesterday. Seneior Sergeant Brian Benn said a
number of cars had slipped off steep roads in the city's hill
suburbs.
Police were taking a ''common sense'' approach to stranded
vehicles around the city suburbs, which in many cases had
been abandoned by drivers after road conditions proved too
precarious for safe travel, he said.
''Once the thaw starts than we would prefer owners [of
vehicles] to take steps to retrieve their property,'' Snr Sgt
Benn said.
Despite the hazardous driving conditions, there had been no
major incidents on Dunedin roads.
''There has been nothing too serious from the snow and ice
around the city and overall we are pleased with the the
behaviour of most motorists,'' Snr Sgt Benn said.
There had been complaints made to police about the antics of
some drivers around the city, and also from people who had
been on the receiving end of unwarranted snowball attacks in
North Dunedin, he said.
''We have to prioritise the incidents we can get to and
occassionally some of these complaints can be time-consuming
to deal with,'' Snr Sgt Benn said.
The northern motorway out of Dunedin on State Highway 1
remained closed to motorists this morning, after snow and ice
shut the route to Waitati down at about 1pm on Sunday, he
said.
About 90 people were taken from their stranded vehicles on
the northern motorway and transported to Waitati, where they
spent Sunday night at the township's hall and local marae,
Snr Sgt Benn said.
''They have been looked after by the locals there and by all
accounts, the community spirit is alive and well,'' he said.
Kane Baas of bus operator Passenger Transport-Citibus told
odt.co.nz that they are gradually expanding bus services to
other flat suburbs including St Kilda and North East Valley
as conditions permit.
Free services had been been run "just to get people out of
the cold," he said.
- Matt Haggart/Additional reporting the New Zealand Herald
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