Welcome to Central Otago at the height of summer - 25degC one
day, snow the next.
Residents who have been basking in one of the hotter summers
had to swap jandals for gumboots yesterday, as a cold snap
brought between 7cm and 10cm of snow to parts of the
Manuherikia and Ida Valleys, the Maniototo and Queenstown.
About 10cm of snow closed Danseys Pass for several hours
yesterday morning. Tree branches around the Maniototo were
also snapped off.
"The last time we had snow in January? Goodness knows ... I
can remember it once snowing on Christmas Day, but that's
all," Stewart McKnight, of Ranfurly, said.
Danseys Pass farmer Ross McMillan said the unseasonal
snowfall was "very rare."
"I've lived here 82 years and can remember it snowing once on
Christmas Day and once on New Year's Eve, but nothing like
this today - we've got about 4in [10cm] of snow here."
Niwa statistics show Ranfurly's temperature plummeted from a
high of 21.5degC on Wednesday to -.5degC on Thursday night,
while Lauder went from a high of 25.1degC on Wednesday to
zero the next night.
Both areas were still coated in snow yesterday morning.
Snow was well down on Central Otago hills and the temperature
dipped to 2.8degC in Alexandra and 2.6degC in Roxburgh on
Thursday night.
Oturehua Tavern publican Grahame Jones said snow started
falling in Oturehua about 9pm on Thursday.
"We had a snow fight outside at midnight. I can't recall the
furniture in the beer garden ever being covered by 3in of
snow in January ...
"We've had the odd skiff of snow in January but nothing lying
on the ground like this."
Summerfruit New Zealand president Gary Bennetts said the cold
spell was unlikely to cause problems for stonefruit growers.
At Coronet Peak, at least 10cm of new powder fell, with
dozens of visitors taking the chance to play in the
unexpected snow.
Tyler Austin (11), on holiday with his family from
Queensland, Australia, was in his element as he experienced
snow for the first time. "It's awesome," he said.
The Remarkables skifield at Queenstown also recorded 5cm.
In Wanaka, there was a light dusting on Mt Roy and on Treble
Cone, but after a brisk start to the day it soon disappeared,
with the temperature heading towards 20degC by mid-afternoon.
There were light dustings of snow on the mountaintops around
Omarama and the Mackenzie Basin, but it soon melted in the
mostly sunny weather.
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