Black ice and plunging temperatures are causing havoc on Central Otago roads.
Several drivers braved the extreme conditions on the Crown Range on Thursday, leaving many stranded.
- Weather: Tornado rips through far North
- Watch: Terrifying moment tornado attacks Far North settlement
- Watch: Lightning strikes Auckland's Sky Tower
The icy blast hit the region at first light, but it wasn't the snow causing all the problems for motorists.
"It's not slippery - it's dry but there is very bad black ice," resident Richard Mills said. "There's a couple of crashes just south of Cardrona Village."
The ice came in thick and fast, blanketing the Crown Range.
"It was good on the way up, and it wasn't until I got right to the top here and went to go over the other side and i could feel the brakes in the ute just sliding," said Steve Ashe of contracting company Fulton Hogan. "So I'm definitely not going to down and end up in the guard rail or even worse."
Tow trucks are doing their best to clear the snow off the road. Conditions were so hazardous even grit trucks had their work cut out.
It was a cold night for freedom campers stuck at the top of the Crown Range.
"Yeah I'm stuck up here, I didn't think about it last night when I came here," one said. There was no snow here when I came last night."
The conditions forced tourists to learn a lesson in how to fit chains.
Black ice is expected to stick about, as temperatures continue to plummet in the region.
Newshub.
