COUNTDOWN TO WINTER – Snow Storms Hammer New Zealand

Staff at The Remarkables chill out and watch the snow accumulate, 50 cm has fallen so far Image:: The Remarkables

Mountainwatch | Countdown to Winter

Winter is just around the corner! Over the next three weeks we’ll be keeping the content flowing to stimulate your stoke in the lead up to winter 2013. Expect the latest photos and news about snowfall and weather, what’s happening at the resorts, snowmaking, photos plus all the best new gear and travel info to keep you in the loop. The air is getting colder, the days are getting shorter; winter is coming…

Major snowfalls have hit New Zealand over the last 48 hours with heavy snow to low elevations across the country. These latest snowfalls have added to an already impressive pre-season and the ski industry is buzzing with excitement.

Details on snowfall totals are still drifting in but at this stage there are reports of 20cm at the North Island resorts and up to 50 cm of new snow around the Southern Lakes.

Parts of the Otago region saw snow to sea level throughout the day with up to 20-30cm hitting the ground. Queenstown and the Southern Lakes are awash with white as 5-10 cm fell right down to the lake level.

In The Forecast

Snow is set to continue this afternoon and into this evening. The Mountainwatch models are currently tipping another 10 cm to fall by tomorrow morning. Temperatures are set to plummet to as low as -10°C with freezing levels hovering around 500masl.

In his daily update The Grasshopper said, “There’s a big strong high sitting in the Tasman Sea right now, and a deep, deep low about 2000km south-east of New Zealand. The South Island is jammed in a raging cold south-westerly flow due to the steep pressure gradient between these two features. …Tomorrow the flow should gradually turn around to the west or north-west across the lower South Island and the snow showers will ease. We should see the sun peek through for at least a little bit, giving us an opportunity to survey the goodness bestowed upon us by this storm.”

For the latest updates on the coming snow season have a read of the latest NZ seasonal outlook and The Grasshopper’s daily forecasts

All that fresh, what to do? Snowball fight of course. Image:: The Remarkables

Queenstown covered in a blanket of snow for the first time in 2013 Image:: Queenstown NZ