Saturday will see areas of rain – some heavy falls – crossing the country.

This rain will also set in across the top half of the South Island.

At the same time an Antarctic southerly will turn that rain to snow inland and above a couple hundred metres it may become heavy.

A few flurries to sea level are possible south of Canterbury – but major amounts are not currently in the forecast.

It’s a bit complicated – but we will keep everyone up to date here at WeatherWatch.co.nz through the weekend.