Early morning showers gave way to steady rain in Christchurch earlier this afternoon and South Island Weather Analyst Richard Green believes it is just a taste of what Christchurch, North Canterbury and the Kaikoura coast region on the Mainland are in for over the next 24 hours.

A low is deepening to the east of Central NZ and as it does, cold southerlies are starting to be whipped up behind the system.The moisture contained in this low could be significant and those in Christchurch, North Canterbury and the Kaikoura region could be in for quite a dose with gale force southerlies to boot.

Now the Weatherwatch team have their eyes peeled on the amount of snow that may fall and to what levels.
At this stage it appears that snowfalls along the alpine areas and foothills of North Canterbury and the Kaikoura region could drop to 400 metres if not lower but this may change depending on the nature of the storm system. Decent falls are expected but it’s difficult to ascertain to exactly what levels.

Tonight and tomorrow morning seem to be the key times for these areas and we’ll update the situation if and when there are further developments.

Richard Green- S.I weather analyst