Cold front brings snow, gales and thunderstorms across New Zealand

2026-10-30 12:45लेखक: Linda Hu

सारांशA cold front is sweeping across New Zealand, closing alpine state highways due to snow and triggering strong wind watches from Northland to Southland. MetService has warned of thunderstorms, hail and snow down to 400 metres in southern regions. Motorists on several key alpine routes have been asked to delay travel or avoid affected areas entirely.

HouGarden New Zealand, 30 October — MetService meteorologist Alanna Burrows described the conditions to Stuff as a "mobile, windy set-up", with a cold front carrying rain and showers from south to north throughout the day.

NZ Transport Agency confirmed that State Highway 73 between Arthur's Pass Village and Otira closed on Friday morning because of snow. "People are asked to avoid the area or delay their journeys as roading crews seek to clear the road," the agency said. State Highway 7 was also closed due to snow between the turnoff to Hanmer Springs and Springs Junction, a stretch that includes Lewis Pass.

AGENT SHOWCASE LISTINGS

Road snowfall warnings are in place for several other alpine routes: Lewis Pass (SH7), Arthur's Pass (SH73), Lindis Pass (SH8), Crown Range Road and Milford Road (SH94), Burrows said.

Cold air trailing the front is keeping temperatures low in the far south. "Dunedin is in for a high of 10C," Burrows said.

Strong wind watches have been issued for Hawke's Bay south of Hastings and the Tararua District from midday to 9pm, and for the Tasman District — around and northwest of Motueka — from 9am to 9pm. Burrows said it is expected to be a windy day across all of Aotearoa.

Thunderstorms are forecast along the West Coast of the South Island from Friday morning, particularly around Golden Bay and down to Fiordland, Burrows said. "By the afternoon, there could be thunderstorms for the lower North Island as well as the Canterbury Plains and Christchurch," she added.

In the North Island, isolated showers are forecast from Northland through Waikato, Coromandel and the Bay of Plenty. From Waitomo to Wellington — including the central high country and Wairarapa — MetService expects isolated showers turning to rain, with the possibility of heavy rain, hail and squally thunderstorms just south of Taihape. A few showers are expected for Gisborne and Hawke's Bay by the afternoon.

For Nelson, rain is forecast to develop on Friday morning and turn heavy during the afternoon. In the South Island, Buller through to Fiordland, including Southland and Clutha, can expect showers with thunderstorms possible on Friday morning and snow lowering to 400 metres in the south. Scattered showers are expected to spread north across Marlborough to Otago by the afternoon, with possible squally thunderstorms and hail along the Kaikōura and Canterbury coasts.

网站声明原创声明：本文系文章顶部作者原创采写，未获书面授权严禁转载! 在获授权前提下，转载必须在醒目位置注明本文出处和具体网页链接。对未注明而擅自转载者，将保留追究法律责任的权利。评论规范： 1. 所有评论均以读者个人身份发表，并不代表后花园立场。 2. 不得使用任何肮脏和亵渎的措辞。 3. 不得进行人身攻击，不得公开或泄露他人隐私。 4. 不得发布侮辱或歧视任何种族、国籍、性别、地域、年龄、职业等方面的言论。 5. 不得在读者评论区散发广告讯息，不得大量转抄其他媒体的文章。 6. 不得煽动仇恨、暴力、歧视。 7. 不得以任何隐晦方式发布上述不当言论，包括但不限于使用字母、数字、代号、谐音、链接跳转等。 8. 后花园保留对违反上述规范的留言行为进一步处理的权力。