Wild weather from a southwest trough forecast for tomorrow has prompted livestock warnings to farmers and avalanche warnings for climbers.
The New Zealand Avalanche Advisory has issued a level four or "high" avalanche danger forecast for Queenstown, and Wanaka has been given a level three or "considerable" risk of avalanche.
A level four on the avalanche danger scale means conditions are very dangerous, and travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended.
The scale runs to level five, which is an extreme risk of avalanche.
Tongariro, Taranaki, Arthur's Pass, Aoraki/Mt Cook and Fiordland all also have level three warnings, where mountains should be avoided unless people have "expert avalanche skills".
Meanwhile, the Southern Lakes area can expect more snow today to 700m and tomorrow to 900m.
The forecast westerly trough tomorrow is expected to bring some rain to most places, moving up from Fiordland to Buller and over central North Island high country, including some snow.
In the south on Wednesday and Thursday there is potential for snow below 500m around Fiordland, Otago and Southland, prompting MetService to say the combination of strong winds and cold temperatures could pose a risk to livestock.
There was potential for severe gales from Bluff to the Otago Peninsula from late Wednesday to early Thursday.
