The polar blast that has been battering the country for the last few days is still causing concern. Travellers in the far south are being asked to consider staying put as more snow is forecast to low levels. However, in Queenstown skiers and snowboarders were all enjoying the massive dump of natural snow. The Aussies are already flying in in big numbers.

13 July 2011, The Remarkables

"There's so much powder. It's so soft, compared to Australian snow it's awesome," James Ly said.

And with school holidays about to start in New Zealand, a bumper fortnight is predicted.

13 July 2011, The Remarkables

"We've gone from famine to feast which is fantastic. But now the challenge is getting everyone up and down the hill safely," NZ Ski chief executive James Coddington said.

At Treble Cone the road to the field was closed because too much snow had created an avalanche risk.

Since the February earthquake in Christchurch tourism numbers in Queenstown have dropped around 10% on last year but the arrival of fresh snow marks a significant turnaround.

13 July 2011, The Remarkables

"We've probably got similar numbers here in Queenstown that we had this time last year so that's great," Destination Queenstown chief executive Tony Everitt said.

For some businesses in the resort, the lack of snow and ash cloud flight disruption made for their worst ever June and they are calling the snow white gold.

13 July 2011, The Remarkables

"It's like turning on the tap. It was really depressing in June and the last few days we've been run off our feet. So we're pleased as can be," Queenstown retailer Eric Wilhite said.

13 July 2011, The Remarkables

But a complete catch up is unlikely with the loss of a month representing a quarter of the four month ski season.

Restaurants have also been feeling the pain..

"What we lost out on in June is gone. We put that behind us and we move on and now we're just looking forward to making hay while the sun shines," restaurant owner Mark Jessop said.

Turoa closed

But it's a different story for a skifield in the North Island where thunderstorms and a one in 20-year snow dump have shut down the Turoa skifield.

The ploughs at Turoa are swamped by snow but the addition of heavy rain and high winds has forced the slopes to close.

13 July 2011, The Remarkables

"It's just been constant for the past seven days...and it's taken our snow base from about 60cm to 1.40 metres," safety services manager Chris Emmett said.

The whiteout just days before the beginning of the school holidays is useless to the public until the weather clears.

13 July 2011, The Remarkables

And then there's still more work to do.

"We've got to do a serious amount of avalanche control work when the storm finally clears and you need good visability and a little less wind for that," Emmett said.

The sun is forecast to arrive in the next few days, offering a ray of hope for what they want to be a bumper season.

Wild weather

However the wind is keeping linesmen busy and caused havoc along the Kapiti Coast.

Paraparaumu Fire Station had several weather-related call-outs and Station officer Gary Johnstone said two were to deal with trees that had come down.

One tree fell onto a road and dragged down power lines, while another fell on a house, trapping one person inside.

In a third incident a house along the beachfront at Paraparaumu Beach lost 75% of its roof. Johnstone said the power company had to turn off the power after the roofing iron chopped through power lines.

Motorists are being advised to take extra care and check road conditions before travelling. Environment Southland's emergency management spokesman Neil Cruickshank said the roads are likely to be treacherous and people should consider whether they need to travel at all.

For up-to-date information on road closures throughout the country click here.

MetService suggests farmers may wish to consider shelter for any vulnerable animals.

Lightning strikes

The unsettled weather has sparked nearly 9000 lightning strikes in the past three days. MetService spokesman Ross Marsden told ONE News that 8921 strikes had been recorded by mid-afternoon.

Severe thunderstorm warnings have been issued for Horowhenua, Kapiti Coast and Tararua.

MetService said its weather radar detected severe thunderstorms moving east, offshore from Manawatu. It said the storms are likely to be accompanied by damaging wind gusts.

As the storms approach, people are advised to take shelter, preferably indoors away from windows, and to avoid sheltering under trees, if outside.

And an Air New Zealand plane was struck by lightning last night, forcing it to return to Auckland. It was en route to Wellington when it was hit, giving the 103 passengers on board a serious fright.

Air NZ says the plane was assessed by engineers today and is expected to be back in service tomorrow.

ONE News
Wednesday July 13, 2011