A slow thaw has begun to take place in Canterbury this morning but there’s still a way to go.

Incredibly cold temperatures dogged the province earlier this morning with reports of the mercury dropping to minus eleven degrees inland.
Darfield just briefly touched minus ten degrees and Christchurch airport nudged minus six degrees after skies cleared overnight following the snowy outbreak yesterday.

“For the first week of June these temperatures are near record breakers” says weather analyst Richard Green.
“This is what you might see happen in the middle of July or perhaps August but this early in the season, well it’s a bit of a short and sharp shock to the system”.

Police have been warning drivers to take extreme care this morning due to the road conditions with a combination of ice and black ice appearing.
Buses earlier this morning also stayed off the roads but a gradual thaw has been taking place however it’s fairly slow going.

Thirteen accidents were reported yesterday in the snowy conditions but most drivers drove to the conditions or stayed off the roads.

More frosts are possible tonight with further icy conditions on the road but a weak southerly change is possible tomorrow afternoon delivering a few showers.