A brief respite from snow since Sunday night gave the region some time to recover from the weekend's storm, which caused the collapse of Stadium Southland and a local store.
However, MetService said a bitterly cold southwest flow was expected to spread over the lower South Island with snow lowering to near sea level later today.
"Significant snowfalls are possible in parts of Southland and the Clutha district during this time. These are especially likely in the Catlins and areas exposed to strong southwesterlies that could produce snow drifts," the MetService said.
"However, it is uncertain if amounts in coastal areas, such as Invercargill will be as significant as those seen a few days ago."
Civil Defence controller Neil Cruickshank yesterday urged people to take stock of their ability to cope with another onslaught of bad weather, saying many had been caught out when all Invercargill's supermarkets were closed as a result of the snow storm.
"Every household should be prepared to cope by having at least three days supply of essential food and water."
South Island farmers have lost thousands of lambs in the bad weather.
Southland Federated Farmers president Rod Pemberton said farmers were holding their breath and hoping for milder weather.
"A lot will depend on how heavy the snow showers are." he said.
Meanwhile, the investigation into the collapse of Stadium Southland was continuing after concerns were raised that the structure was not sound.
A closed meeting was held between the local council and stadium charitable trust yesterday, and Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson was expected to visit Invercargill today to inspect the damage.
In the central North Island, residents were continuing to feel the effects of the storm, with thousands of household being hit by power cuts after gale-force winds.
More than 55,000 people lost power over the weekend, and as Powerco was working to restore power to the remaining customers yesterday, high winds cut off power to another 2800 households in north Taranaki, Wanganui, Manawatu and Wairarapa yesterday.
Powerco urged people to keep well away from any remaining downed overhead lines or other damaged network equipment.
MetService has lifted a warning for severe gales in Wellington and southern Wairarapa, but said severe westerly gusts of up to 130kmh were expected to continue in exposed parts of Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa.
"Winds of this strength have the potential to damage trees, powerlines and insecure structures and make driving conditions hazardous, especially for tall sided vehicles and motorcycles," it said
