A snow surprise brought joy to tourists but headaches for many residents in the Wakatipu Basin yesterday.
Wet, heavy snow to a low level toppled trees, closed roads and cut power to more than 1800 households across the region.
It is unlikely to be a one-off snowfall.
MetService meteorologist April Clark said another cold front was expected to hit the area overnight, and the freezing level was expected to drop to 500m.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council said its contractors were ''gearing up'' for more snow today and tomorrow.
Tuesday night's fall cut power to homes and businesses in Arrowtown, Dalefield, Lower Shotover, Lake Hayes, Gibbston, Millbrook and Glenorchy.
The snow brought down trees and branches across Wakatipu, particularly on State Highway 6 and in parts of Lake Hayes, Arrowtown and Dalefield.
Aurora Energy spokesman Gary Johnson said about 50 customers in the Paradise and Routeburn areas near Glenorchy remained without power yesterday evening.
The outages were caused by snow weighing down tree branches, causing them to come into contact with overhead power lines, Mr Johnson said.
Queenstown skifield Coronet Peak, which closed a fortnight ago, reported 30cm of fresh snow, while across the basin at The Remarkables, which closed on October 2, about 40cm fell and the access road was shut.
The Wanaka area was relatively untouched as snow fell only at a high level in the mountains.
Although power cuts and road closures inconvenienced many Wakatipu residents, visitors were delighted by the unexpected snow.
Jerven Zhang was among a busload of overseas visitors that stopped on Malaghans Rd at the foot of Coronet Peak to admire the snowscape and photograph ewes and lambs.
The Chinese national, who lives in Sydney, said the snow was ''so bloody beautiful'' and he felt lucky to see it on the ground at this time of year.
''This is a very fascinating and unique experience for me.
''I'm so, so happy because the weather was terrible yesterday and our activities were cancelled. We're very grateful.''
A repeat storm could bring more disruption to roads across the region after widespread, albeit brief, closures yesterday.
The Crown Range road linking Queenstown and Wanaka was among several key routes cleared by late yesterday morning.
But many downed trees at the head of Lake Wakatipu, near Glenorchy, meant it took until the afternoon to reopen several roads in the area.
State Highway 94, Te Anau to Milford Sound in Southland, reopened about noon yesterday after being shut because of avalanche risk. The Lindis Pass (SH8) between Omarama and Tarras was also closed by snow but reopened by midmorning.
MetService forecaster and meteorologist Andy Downs said the south of New Zealand would see the worst weather this week.
Although the heavy rain was not ''exceptional'', it could be an issue for motorists as well as people planning to venture into the mountains.
Trampers had to take care over rising rivers, Mr Downs said.
''They just need to heed the warnings and not do anything silly like trying to cross swollen rivers or anything like that.''
