Southerly blast brings snow and strong winds to New Zealand

Friday 31 July 2026 · 3 outlets · 4 reports · updated Fri 31 Jul, 3:47pm

In this story MetService

A cold southerly blast is bringing snow and gale-force winds across much of the South Island. MetService has issued wind watches for Southland, Otago, Canterbury and Marlborough. Two flights into Queenstown have been cancelled and motorists are advised to avoid the North Island's Desert Road overnight.

How they headlined it

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7:13am9:04am11:11am3:47pm

1. StuffFri 31 Jul, 7:13am

   Freezing southerly blast to dump low-level snow and batter NZ (opens in new tab)

   • Brace for bitter cold as snow and gale-force winds hit South Island, and alpine areas (opens in new tab) Fri 31 Jul, 3:47pm
2. 1NewsFri 31 Jul, 9:04am

   Thunderstorms 'pinging' as bitter cold forecast for South Island (opens in new tab)

3. NZ HeraldFri 31 Jul, 11:11am

   MetService warns of ‘bitter’ cold, snow and strong winds across South Island (opens in new tab)