A "potent front" moving up the country prompted a raft of severe weather advisories for much of the South Island earlier today, but these have now expired.
However, MetService has issued road snow warnings for the Crown Range Road and the Milford Road (State Highway 94), saying the latter could expect from 8 to 15cm of snow at the summit.
The Crown Range warning is for 13 hours from 5am to 6pm on Friday, while the Milford Road one covers 24 hours from 10pm today.
Southerners were earlier being urged to take care on roads as wild winds hammered the area.
Both the Remarkables and Coronet Peak ski fields had 6cm of snowfall.
The Central Otago District Council said contractors were dealing with "widespread" wind-related issues across the roading network, and that wheelie bins were being blown on to roads across the region.
The council urged people whose bins weren't full to take them back on to their properties and put them out again next week.
MetService meteorologist Alanna Burrows said the wild conditions were moving on to the North Island but were expected to ease for the whole country by the end of Friday.
"Then, as we move into the last weekend of winter, we are expecting to see another boost to winds and swell, combined with fast-moving rainbands.
"A strong northwesterly flow builds over the country ahead of another front, which moves on to southern New Zealand late in the day on Saturday and quickly over the country on Sunday, followed by a strong and showery west to southwest flow.
"And with a nod to winter, there is a chance that snow may affect some of the higher South Island roads this weekend."
- Allied Media
