Dunedin residents in the hill suburbs may be late for work on Tuesday as a polar blast hits the city on Monday night.
MetService forecaster Gerard Bellam said a very cold front would hit Stewart Island on Monday morning and travel up the east coast of the South Island.
“Then behind that, we’re seeing a very cold outbreak of strong southwest winds coming all the way up from the ice [Antarctica].”
It was expected to bring snow down to low levels and winds gusting up to 90kmh, from South Otago, past Dunedin and into North Otago, he said.
“So as we go overnight, in to Tuesday morning, we’re expecting snow down to about 200 metres, and that will affect Dunedin’s hill suburbs and the motorway heading out of the city as well.
“This is probably the coldest outbreak of this year, we’re thinking, but it’s mostly confined to the coastal areas of eastern Otago.
“It’s not really penetrating that much inland.”
MetService has already issued a road snowfall warning for the Dunedin to Waitati Highway (SH1), from 7pm on Monday night until 10am on Tuesday, when up to 4cm (possibly more) could fall above 200m.
The snow also had the potential to create dangerous driving conditions around the higher suburbs of Dunedin — particularly Pine Hill.
“Certainly, we don’t need much — one or two centimetres is enough to cause disruption on those higher roads,” he said.
“It could provide some dicey driving conditions.
“And the thing is, I’ve noticed recently in these frosty outbreaks in Central Otago, and even up in the North Island, there has been quite a lot of minor crashes … so it needs to be pointed out to them [drivers].”
He urged residents to keep an eye on the forecast in case heavy snow and severe gale warnings were issued.
For the rest of the week, a large high pressure system was expected to sit over Otago and Southland, bringing clear skies and frosty mornings with temperatures dropping to -6˚C, he said.
john.lewis@odt.co.nz