As wild weather batters the country and snow falls, three Air NZ planes have been struck by lightning in Auckland overnight but cleared for take-off.
Much of the country can expect bleak winter weather to kick off the school holidays.
In Auckland, all weekend football games have been cancelled, while residents in mountain regions and towns at the bottom of the South Island are buckling down for heavy dumps of snow.
This afternoon, traffic in Grey Lynn was impacted when a large branch came down on a section of Richmond Rd.
“Heavy snow may disrupt travel in affected areas and could damage trees and powerlines. Cold conditions may cause stress for livestock,” Otago Civil Defence has warned this morning.
MetService has put southern Otago from Queenstown to Alexandra and Mosgiel as well as Southland and Stewart Island under a heavy snow warning that lasts for the next 36 hours, until 9am on Monday.
“Expect periods of heavy snow above about 300 metres, with some falls down to near sea level,” weather forecasters are warning.
“The heaviest snow is expected from Saturday evening through to Sunday evening, where 20 to 35cm of snow is expected above about 300m, with lesser amounts down to near sea level.”
Latest Watches and Warnings. There's a large swath of road snow warnings active, as well as a Heavy Snow Warning in the south. Also note that the wind watch for Hawke's Bay and Tararua District has been upgraded to a warning. Check out the details at https://t.co/qHyE5zzql5 pic.twitter.com/pUZBQVSgUf
— MetService (@MetService) June 30, 2023
Thunderstorms are also possible in Southland and Clutha this afternoon and evening.
Fiordland also has a heavy snow watch in place, while strong wind watches are in force across Nelson, Marlborough and the Canterbury high country.
A strong wind warning is also in place for Hawke’s Bay to Tararua, where gusts could hit 120km/h in exposed places.
Auckland, meanwhile, is alternating between patches of sunshine and heavy, sharp bursts of rain.
It follows on from heavy rain overnight, along with hail storms and lightning strikes.
Air NZ said lightning struck three of its aircraft in Auckland yesterday.
“All affected aircraft have undergone inspection and returned to service. Lightning strikes are not uncommon. Aircraft are designed with this in mind and our pilots train for this scenario,” the airline said.
Auckland Airport said the strikes did not cause any flight delays.
The weather has also been enough to put the brakes on weekend soccer matches.
Northern Region Football said council has advised that Auckland junior, youth and community football games are cancelled today and tomorrow.
Crown Range Summit is looking absolutely stunning this morning with a fresh dusting of snow! Be safe if travelling over the weekend, there's lots of warnings out, check https://t.co/qHyE5zzql5 for details pic.twitter.com/fFqChzQLF6
— MetService (@MetService) June 30, 2023
Auckland is sitting at 14C as of 1pm and is expected to climb one degree higher to a maximum of 15C today, before a brisk overnight low of 9C.
Squally, thunderstorm bursts of heavy rain are expected to carry through today and into tomorrow, when a top of 15C is again forecast.
Rain is likely to continue into Monday before cloudy conditions take over on Tuesday, lasting for much of the week.
Wellington is set to hit 12C over the weekend, with the odd shower in the evenings. Strong northwesterly gusts are expected today, turning to southerlies on Sunday afternoon.
The Garden City will dip to -2C on Sunday, only reaching a 10C high on Saturday. Cantabrians wake to a frost this morning with showers likely this evening and strong southwesterlies in exposed places.
In Hawke’s Bay south of Hastings and the Tararua District, a strong wind warning is in place from 8pm today until 8am tomorrow.
The heavy snow warning for Otago, south from Queenstown, Alexandra and Mosgiel, and also for Southland and Stewart Island, lasts from 3pm today until 9am Monday.
Periods of heavy snow are possible there above 300 metres and it could fall as low as 100m. Fiordland is under an orange heavy snow warning from midday today until 4am on Monday.
This weekend’s Headlines: Unsettled weekend, Snow – Where and when, Weather on Sunday https://t.co/BMLe3sSM2r via @weatherwatchnz
— WeatherWatch.co.nz (@WeatherWatchNZ) June 30, 2023
Snow had already begun to fall on Mt Ruapehu before this weekend and Ruapehu Alpine Lifts chief executive Jono Dean said they’d spent time getting prepped for today.
“We’re back and ready to host an epic winter of good times on both sides of the maunga,” Dean said.
“I’m so proud of our crew who have continued to put in the hard mahi during an extraordinary period for RAL, and we cannot wait to share the treats with all our loyal supporters, skiers, and riders later in July.”