A picture postcard from Queenstown this morning.  Photo by: Alison Metherell/weatherwatch.co.nz.

An incredible headline for November but it’s currently snowing in Invercargill and on the hills around Dunedin as a spring storm moves over New Zealand.

The Antarctic blast arrived in Southland late last night dropping the temperature to just 2 degrees with reports of snow falling across the region before midnight.

This morning our Invercargill Weather Watch reporter Malcolm Gayfer confirms snow has fallen in the city.  

Snowing in Invercargill this morning!  Photo by Michelle McCuin / weatherwatch.co.nz.

Head weather analyst Philip Duncan says a mixture of snow and snow/rain are likely to continue falling in the region today.  “This is not a short, sharp, system…snow flurries may last for much of the day across Southland and Otago as this big system churns by”.  Mr Duncan says it’s currently just 1 degrees with rain or snow falling across Southland, Central Otago and low on the hills around Dunedin.

“Snow to sea level in November is extremely rare” says Mr Duncan.  “Centre’s in the south will struggle to rise above 6 or 7 degrees today.  Amazing to think that summer starts next month”.

Hey says wind chills are brutal this morning and are several degrees below zero in Invercargill and Dunedin.

This photo shows snow surrounding cows on a Southland farm, by Classic Hits listener Stacey Bell.

 

Further north and the warm nor’westers are still continuing.  “It’s 3 in Dunedin with that southerly but 16 in Kaikoura with the northerly”.  The southerly has just arrived in Timaru.

Winds remain gale force in Wellington and unusually right along the West Coast of the South Island with gale force winds gusting up to 90km/h.  On the hills around Wellington, including the Rimutakas, gusts are reaching 120km/h.

He says winds may not reach as high as initially thought as the centre of the low widens spreading the energy across a larger area.

However the cold snap is still heading north which will bring a strengthening sou’westerly to north western New Zealand in the afternoon, which includes Hamilton and Auckland.  Guy Fawkes celebrations definitely look set to be a fizzer in some regions tonight.

TRAVEL WARNING

The Weather Watch Centre has issued 1 Travel Warning.

Snow, sleet and hail are likely across Southland and coastal Otago today – including the hills around Dunedin.

Motorists in all these areas are advised to take extreme care.

Photo:  Taken in Queenstown from Fernhill about 6.30am today by Alison Metherell.  Alison there’s not much on the roads in town but the occasional flurry.

 

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