Big chill takes hold of region

By NZPA and IAIN HYNDMAN
Roads were closed throughout the central North Island last night as a snowstorm moved up the country.
Christchurch residents awoke yesterday to a city paralysed by a cold front which has bought the biggest snowfall this year. By 8pm the cold front had moved north, bringing with it snow, hail, sleet and high winds.
SH1 over the Desert Rd and SH49 between Ohakune and Waiouru were closed last night.
SH1 between Turangi and Taihape, SH4 between Taumarunui and Raetihi, and SH47 at National Park were also closed.
Police were urging people to avoid travel on roads south of Waiouru at Normanby, Hawera, Wanganui and Marton because of hail and sleet.
The Automobile Association was also urging caution on SH3 between Uruti and Urenui, which had been reduced to a single lane, and between Woodville and Palmerston North, where speed restrictions had been put in place.
As the MetService warned that snow dumps to low levels were due overnight and early today in places that have seen no snow at all so far this year, Rangitikei farmers steeled themselves for the effects of the cold snap on livestock.
Weather ambassador Bob McDavitt predicted the cold front that raced north across Canterbury last night was likely to bring dumps of snow to the Central Plateau, with significant falls in the hill country of Wanganui, Taihape, Taranaki, Wellington, Wairarapa and Manawatu today. He suggested the system could pose problems for newborn lambs caught in the open.
While hill country farmers were aware of the pending blast, there was little they could do, with ewes already lambing.
Ruth Rainey, who farms in the Kawhatau Valley east of Mangaweka, said the reality of hill country farming was that little could be done to protect stock at this time of year.
"We're right in the middle of lambing, so the ewes simply cannot be moved at this stage. We are aware of the warnings, but it really depends on what type of snow arrives and how long it hangs around," Mrs Rainey said yesterday.
Dean Cunningham, who started lambing last Monday high in the hills where the Turakina Valley meets the Pohonui Valley in the backblocks of Hunterville, was not overly concerned yesterday.
"We started lambing on Monday last week and have twins for miles and miles, but there's not much we can do, other than hope the cold blast doesn't hang around," Mr Cunningham said.
"We've had snow at this time of year in the past, and it hasn't caused too many problems. If it does hit harder than expected and stays around, we'll just have to take it on the chin."
The Tarrant family, between Taihape and Waiouru, was busy yesterday afternoon looking for lamb covers to protect newborn stock.