Chaos... . . For those lucky ones ejoying summer on other side of the world 
News here: Weather around the country
Much of the South Island has been turned into a winter wonderland, but it is anything but a fairy tale for emergency services. Many roads across Canterbury have been closed, while others are marginal because of heavy snowfalls after a so-called "weather bomb" moved in overnight.
The "event of the winter" is the way MetService is describing the snow currently falling on Canterbury.
Christchurch is blanketed in white down to sea level, and Fairlie in mid-Canterbury has 90 centimetre-deep snow drifts. Christchurch Airport is closed while the runway is cleared. Many bus services around the Canterbury region have been cancelled.
Up to 90 centimetres of snow has been reported in the mid-Canterbury town of Fairlie. Andy George from Newstalk ZB's Timaru newsroom says the snow is down to sea level, with police telling motorists to stay home.
He says the township Geraldine has been closed to pedestrians as so much snow is building up on the roofs that it is soon going to start sliding down and collapsing on to the pavements below.
State Highway One is closed from Rolleston south, Porters Pass is closed, and heavy flooding has closed State Highway 75 near Motukarara.
Chains are required on State Highway 7 near Hanmer. Christchurch City Council is reporting the Summit Road and the Sign of the Kiwi to Gebbies Pass are also closed.
Schools throughout Canterbury are closed. Both Lincoln University and Christchurch Polytechnic are closed.
Christchurch Hospital is asking those who cannot make appointments to ring in and cancel.
Christchurch Airport was still closed at 11am but officials were asking passengers to turn up as it could open at any stage.
The intersection of Wigram and Hayton Roads is flooded and will probably be closed all day.
Meteorologist Richard Green says the snow in Christchurch is set to turn to heavy rain by late morning.
Meanwhile it is not snow, but wind and rain which are causing problems in Wellington.
There is plenty of surface flooding, and gales have taken the roof off a house at the base of the Rimutakas. Power lines have also been brought down in Haitaitai.
Wellington City Council's Simon Beattie says other than that, things appear to be okay, with no reports of anything too major.
The Cook Strait ferries are reporting no problems, with sailings going ahead as normal, however crossings are being closely monitored.
The high winds are also causing problems for boaties in the Bay of Plenty.
Tauranga Yacht Club manager Toni Stallard says several boats stored on land have already been damaged, and she is urging all boat owners to make sure their boats are secure.
She says some of them are flipping over and damaging other boats. Toni Stallard says it is pretty rough at the moment and it is going to get worse.
Meanwhile much of the greater Auckland region is still without power as the region is battered by strong winds and heavy rain.
Transpower expects the power outage to continue into the afternoon. Technicians are scrambling to repair the fault at the SOE's Otahuhu substation. A wire fell across a 110 kilovolt feeder line at about 8:30 this morning.
Much of Auckland and Manukau City has been cut and there are also reports of outages reaching up to the Far North.
Auckland City's emergency operations centre has been activated and motorists are being asked to stay of the roads as traffic signals are still down. Businesses and schools have been told not to send staff or pupils home if they are safe where they are.
Mobile phone usage should be restricted to essential calls only. Auckland City says at this stage there is no problem with water supply.
To minimise pressure on waste water systems it is asking people to not wash clothes or dishes or flush toilets over the next few hours.
The power outage has affected surgery at the Mercy Ascot Hospital in Auckland. Spokesman Geoff Sparkes says patient safety has not been compromised as back up generators are supplying emergency power, but he says no new surgery will begin in the hospital's 19 theatres until the power is restored.
Meanwhile the operators of the EFT-POS system says the power outage has not affected the network but they add that obviously businesses without power will not be able to dial in.
The bad weather is moving north and now gale force winds and torrential rain have hit the middle of the country.
Transpower says the blackout that has brought much of Auckland to a standstill may continue until Monday afternoon.
The national grid operator says a 110-kilovolt feeder to the the Otahuhu substation has been lost and power has been cut to up to a quarter of the top of the country.
An earthwire snapped and fell across the feeder from the Otahuhu substation, outing four other substations and two power stations.
Some telephone systems are affected and Auckland city and Middlemore Hospitals are operating for emergencies only.
Traffic lights are out due to the power cut and the Auckland police say patrols are encountering traffic lunancy from some motorists who are doing u-turns and driving in the wrong direction.
Some businesses have been forced to send staff home and some schools and teritary institutions have also been affected. A number of court sittings have also been disrupted and people are stuck in lifts.
Police have been inundated with calls and are urging the public to contact them only in emergency situations.
Transpower says teams are on-site at Otahuhu assessing the situation and the best case scenario would be having power restored by midday but it says the problems could potentially carry on into the afternoon.
Bob McDavitt from MetService says the weather is the result of a rapidly deepening low pressure system in the Tasman sea.
In the North Island, severe gales are buffeting areas from Wellington to Northland.
News here: Weather around the country
Much of the South Island has been turned into a winter wonderland, but it is anything but a fairy tale for emergency services. Many roads across Canterbury have been closed, while others are marginal because of heavy snowfalls after a so-called "weather bomb" moved in overnight.
The "event of the winter" is the way MetService is describing the snow currently falling on Canterbury.
Christchurch is blanketed in white down to sea level, and Fairlie in mid-Canterbury has 90 centimetre-deep snow drifts. Christchurch Airport is closed while the runway is cleared. Many bus services around the Canterbury region have been cancelled.
Up to 90 centimetres of snow has been reported in the mid-Canterbury town of Fairlie. Andy George from Newstalk ZB's Timaru newsroom says the snow is down to sea level, with police telling motorists to stay home.
He says the township Geraldine has been closed to pedestrians as so much snow is building up on the roofs that it is soon going to start sliding down and collapsing on to the pavements below.
State Highway One is closed from Rolleston south, Porters Pass is closed, and heavy flooding has closed State Highway 75 near Motukarara.
Chains are required on State Highway 7 near Hanmer. Christchurch City Council is reporting the Summit Road and the Sign of the Kiwi to Gebbies Pass are also closed.
Schools throughout Canterbury are closed. Both Lincoln University and Christchurch Polytechnic are closed.
Christchurch Hospital is asking those who cannot make appointments to ring in and cancel.
Christchurch Airport was still closed at 11am but officials were asking passengers to turn up as it could open at any stage.
The intersection of Wigram and Hayton Roads is flooded and will probably be closed all day.
Meteorologist Richard Green says the snow in Christchurch is set to turn to heavy rain by late morning.
Meanwhile it is not snow, but wind and rain which are causing problems in Wellington.
There is plenty of surface flooding, and gales have taken the roof off a house at the base of the Rimutakas. Power lines have also been brought down in Haitaitai.
Wellington City Council's Simon Beattie says other than that, things appear to be okay, with no reports of anything too major.
The Cook Strait ferries are reporting no problems, with sailings going ahead as normal, however crossings are being closely monitored.
The high winds are also causing problems for boaties in the Bay of Plenty.
Tauranga Yacht Club manager Toni Stallard says several boats stored on land have already been damaged, and she is urging all boat owners to make sure their boats are secure.
She says some of them are flipping over and damaging other boats. Toni Stallard says it is pretty rough at the moment and it is going to get worse.
Meanwhile much of the greater Auckland region is still without power as the region is battered by strong winds and heavy rain.
Transpower expects the power outage to continue into the afternoon. Technicians are scrambling to repair the fault at the SOE's Otahuhu substation. A wire fell across a 110 kilovolt feeder line at about 8:30 this morning.
Much of Auckland and Manukau City has been cut and there are also reports of outages reaching up to the Far North.
Auckland City's emergency operations centre has been activated and motorists are being asked to stay of the roads as traffic signals are still down. Businesses and schools have been told not to send staff or pupils home if they are safe where they are.
Mobile phone usage should be restricted to essential calls only. Auckland City says at this stage there is no problem with water supply.
To minimise pressure on waste water systems it is asking people to not wash clothes or dishes or flush toilets over the next few hours.
The power outage has affected surgery at the Mercy Ascot Hospital in Auckland. Spokesman Geoff Sparkes says patient safety has not been compromised as back up generators are supplying emergency power, but he says no new surgery will begin in the hospital's 19 theatres until the power is restored.
Meanwhile the operators of the EFT-POS system says the power outage has not affected the network but they add that obviously businesses without power will not be able to dial in.
The bad weather is moving north and now gale force winds and torrential rain have hit the middle of the country.
Transpower says the blackout that has brought much of Auckland to a standstill may continue until Monday afternoon.
The national grid operator says a 110-kilovolt feeder to the the Otahuhu substation has been lost and power has been cut to up to a quarter of the top of the country.
An earthwire snapped and fell across the feeder from the Otahuhu substation, outing four other substations and two power stations.
Some telephone systems are affected and Auckland city and Middlemore Hospitals are operating for emergencies only.
Traffic lights are out due to the power cut and the Auckland police say patrols are encountering traffic lunancy from some motorists who are doing u-turns and driving in the wrong direction.
Some businesses have been forced to send staff home and some schools and teritary institutions have also been affected. A number of court sittings have also been disrupted and people are stuck in lifts.
Police have been inundated with calls and are urging the public to contact them only in emergency situations.
Transpower says teams are on-site at Otahuhu assessing the situation and the best case scenario would be having power restored by midday but it says the problems could potentially carry on into the afternoon.
Bob McDavitt from MetService says the weather is the result of a rapidly deepening low pressure system in the Tasman sea.
In the North Island, severe gales are buffeting areas from Wellington to Northland.