Motorway opens as snow eases

Seagulls brave a snowy Octagon.
Seagulls brave a snowy Octagon.
Streets on the flat in Dunedin are mostly clear of snow now and the Northern and Southern Motorways are open.

However, Three Mile Hill is still closed and Dunedin Police advised motorists to avoid driving on streets in the hill suburbs because they were still very icy.

The snow, which has closed schools and halted transport, is expected to continue falling down to sea level until 7pm tonight.

Dunedin Airport is closed, as are all the city's schools, and police have described driving conditions on the city's hills as "a nightmare".

The city's bus services are now running but today's DCC rubbish collection has been cancelled and will take place on Saturday.

A Metservice spokeswoman said snow was expected to continue falling down to sea level until 7pm tonight, albeit less frequently and lighter.

The snow should lift and clear by midnight, she said.

This morning police were advising Dunedin people to stay at home after heavy snow falls in the city caused multiple accidents overnight and closed roads in and out of the city.

It was a cold and dark start for some residents in South Dunedin this morning after a line fault on Hillside Rd left much of the area without power. Delta network services manager Lindsay McLennan said power went off at 6.17am but was restored by 8am.

Dunedin Police Senior Sergeant Ed Baker said there had been "dozens" of minor accidents across the city this morning.

"...So many, that we've stopped attending them. Vehicles have been sliding off the road or into parked cars. It's going to be a panel beaters' dream tomorrow."

Snr Sgt Baker warned motorists to avoid "any road that's got a slight incline in it".  

Police advised residents to stay home, Senior Sergeant Mel Aitken said.

"We're stressing to people the roads are treacherous and unless it's essential -- stay in doors. You're putting yourself and other people at risk."

There had been multiple accidents overnight, she told NZPA.

"We've got crashes banked up all over the city. Fortunately at this stage no injuries, but we can't even get to them."

It was too dangerous for police cars to attend non-injury accidents, she said.

Police were warning people not to go on the roads in the hill suburbs, which were a "nightmare".

There was ice and snow on SH1 south of the city and it was blocked by a fuel tanker which jack-knifed, about 6am this morning at Lookout Point.

The driver was not injured. 

"We've got grit trucks working furiously to try to clear the roads," Ms Aitken said.

The roads between Clinton and Balclutha and Milton and Balclutha are also closed due to poor conditions.

In South Otago, most schools were closed as the district woke to a white blanket of snow.

State Highway 1, between Milton and Balclutha, was originally closed earlier today but was re-opened about 7am although Transit was advising drivers to take extreme caution.

The trip between the two two towns, which normally takes 20 minutes, was taking at least twice that long this morning with parts of the highway in black ice.

Several trucks were laid up on the side of the highway just north of Balclutha although there were no reported crashes as of 9am.

Today's list day at the Balclutha District Court has been cancelled because of the bad weather.

Court registrar Ron Macmillan said today's list day would be shifted to tomorrow and the defended hearings, scheduled for tomorrow, will be held at a later date.

It is the first time in about 10 years that weather has affected a sitting of the court.

A Metservice spokesman said the worst of the snow had fallen over night but more was expected throughout today, albeit less frequently and lighter.

He warned motorists to take great care on roads about Otago because the low temperatures were causing snow to turn to black ice. Black ice would become more prevalent later this afternoon, he said.

The lowest temperature recorded overnight was -8degC at Mid Dome in Northern Southland but the average temperature was between -1degC and 0degC, he said.

 

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