UPDATED 9:30pm Monday — A winter storm is bringing travel chaos to both islands.  Below are our predictions of highway, airport and ferry conditions over the next day or two.

By Air
Airports most at risk from delays or closures will be Christchurch, Wellington, Dunedin and Queenstown.

• Invercargill Airport – Moderate risk of flights being affected Tuesday.
• Queenstown Airport – Moderate risk of airport being affected Tuesday.
• Dunedin Airport – High to moderate risk of cancellations or delays across Tuesday
• Christchurch Airport – High risk of the airport being affected Tuesday, moderate risk Wednesday.
• Wellington Airport – High risk of flight delays and cancellations on Tuesday, low risk Wednesday.

***In ALL cases, please check your airline and airport websites for the latest information***

By Sea
Cook Strait will be roughest from Tuesday to Thursday with huge swells coming in from the south.  Check with your ferry company for further travel details.

By Road.

For the latest Highway information click here

South Island: 

• Alpine Passes – ALL South Island alpine roads are at high risk from being closed, or seriously affected, by snow across Tuesday. 
• Lower level highways – High risk that many highways, especially in Otago and Canterbury, will be affected over Tuesday.  Check with the roading website above for the latest (see link above)

North Island:

• Rimutaka Ranges – High risk of closure through Tuesday, moderate risk Wednesday.
• Desert Road – High risk of closures Tuesday and moderate risk Wednesday.
• Napier-Taupo Highway – High risk of closure or delays, Tuesday, Wednesday.
• SH2 – Napier to Gisborne and Gisborne to Whakatane – Moderate risk of closures or delays Tuesday and Wednesday.
• SH4 – Raetihi – Moderate risk of closure or delays Tuesday and low risk on Wednesday.
• SH3 – Taranaki – Hawera – Moderate risk of snow on SH3 near Stratford on Tuesday.
• Central North Island – It’s possible many roads and highways will be affected by snow for a time from this event. If this is the case, the best alternative will be via SH3 through Taranaki.
• SH29 – Kaimai Ranges – High risk of snow on Tuesday morning.
• Numerous other highways may be affected – or are affected – see the link above for the very latest State Highway conditions.

We cannot be anymore specific at this stage but will endeavour to update and make as accurate as possible over the coming days.