Heavy snow has blanketed much of the Canterbury region with many locals waking to winter wonderlands in their gardens.
An active low pressure system moved up the country overnight bringing over 60cm of snow to the Mt Hutt ski field on Saturday morning.
- Weather: Thunderstorms and hail possible for Auckland, temperatures to plummet across NZ
- Weather: 'Incredible snow event' forecast for Canterbury region, warning of damage to trees and powerlines
"Winter has most definitely arrived at Mt Hutt! Our storm team on the mountain estimate 60cm plus of new snow in the base area as of 8am. And there is more snow in the forecast next week!" the ski field posted on their Facebook page.
Ski fields in the region will begin to open for the winter season from June 7.
Ski fields in other parts of the country, on Mt Ruapehu and Cardrona, open today with the help of snow machines
Cardrona general manager Bridget Legnavsky says they're a few weeks ahead.
"The reason we've opened June 1 is really to do with strategy around moving towards being open all year round," Legnavsky told Newshub.
Meanwhile the Canterbury Snow and Weather Watch Facebook group has been inundated with photos of gardens and streets completely blanketed in snow.
Locals in Tekapo, Arthurs Pass, Oxford, Fairlie, Glenroy and Methven all reported large amounts of snow cover on Saturday morning.
The MetService issued a heavy snow watch for the region on Saturday morning for areas north of Mt Cook and the Kaikoura Ranges.
Newshub.
