MetService has issued a watch for Fiordland north of Doubtful Sound, as an active front was expected to bring heavy rain from 9pm on Sunday until noon on Monday.
Rain amounts may approach warning criteria.
Milford Road Alliance advised today that State Highway 94 may close from Cascade Creek to Donne River Bridge from Sunday evening through Monday morning.
The area was hit hard during the destructive wind and rain event that battered Southland and South Otago just over a fortnight ago, and the heavy rain could cause more slips and trees to fall.
Showers were forecast for the Homer Tunnel area from Friday until Tuesday, with heavy rain expected to fall on Monday.
Meanwhile, windfall clearance and track repair work was well under way on the Milford Track following the October storm, but the avalanche hazard remained too high to safely allow work at some bridge sites, Doc said in a statement today.
The department's operations director for the southern South Island, Aaron Fleming, said until the avalanche risk had substantially decreased, bridges could not be reinstalled.
“We have rangers from outside the region on the ground helping with the recovery. Safety is always our number one priority and right now the risk is too high.
"Staff are seeing daily avalanches in the upper Clinton, with heavy snow loads beginning to melt. As well as a risk to people, it wouldn’t make sense to install a bridge directly in the path of a predictable avalanche.”
Mr Fleming said staff were working to reopen the Milford Track on November 19 "however we will be in direct contact with booked hikers if further delays are expected."
The alpine sections of the Kepler and Routeburn tracks would remain closed until snow and avalanche conditions improved.
The Doc website was being updated regularly and staff will continue to notify people booked of any delays or closures, he said.
“Anyone heading backcountry into alpine areas should be aware of the heightened avalanche risk following the late spring snowfall. It’s not just Great Walks impacted.
“It’s not the start of the summer hiking season we’d hoped for, but we are working hard to get things up and running for people to get back out naturing as soon as possible and we’d like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding.”
- Allied Media
