Drivers were being urged to be cautious because of surface water on State Highway 1 between Milton and Balclutha and between Clinton and Gore.
Central Otago District Council emergency management officer Hamish Keith said people in "a handful" of low-lying properties along the Manuherikia, mostly between Ophir and Omakau, had been warned they might need to evacuate their homes last night.
However, the river had peaked and started falling at 2am. There was flooding near the river on farm land but it was not near any homes.
The concern over the next few days was snowmelt combined with rain forecast later in the week, he said.
Warm northwest conditions prompted a major snowmelt on Tuesday and more was expected today.
"With rainfall, we can predict what it will do to the rivers, but snowmelt is more an unknown quantity," Mr Keith said.
The Otago Regional Council said the level of the Manuherikia and the lower Clutha was likely to result in minor surface flooding of low-lying areas.
Several council roads in the Maniototo are closed because of flooding - Scotts Lane, Danseys Pass, Kyeburn River Rd, Factory Rd and Naseby link Rd. Smith Rd in the Teviot Valley has slumping and is restricted to light vehicles only.
Roading authorities also advise caution on about a dozen other roads in the Maniototo affected by flooding or washouts.
An Oturehua farmer reported snow 22cm deep on his property melted yesterday and the water throughout the area ''has to go somewhere'', Council roading manager Julie Muir said yesterday.
The area had two major rain events on consecutive weekends last month, before the snow fell, so groundwater levels were already high.
''You can see springs bubbling up in places we've never seen them before and that'll cause issues with gravel roads, especially. The only good thing about that is that gravel roads aren't as expensive to fix [as sealed roads].''
The Otago Regional Council was also monitoring river levels yesterday but the Taieri was already showing signs of dropping last night.
Regional council environmental information and science director John Threlfall said the warm wind had melted snow more rapidly than had been hoped but coastal Otago rivers were not expected to rise any higher than last week's snow-melt peak.
The warm northwest conditions are expected to continue until tomorrow, although no significant rainfall was expected in eastern or Central Otago over the next 48 hours.
However, MetService is forecasting possible significant rainfall in the headwaters of Otago lakes and rivers on Friday.
