Big chill descends on Nelson
MARTIN DE RUYTER/The Nelson MailJUST LIKE HOME: Brothers Felix and Louis Cryer, from Wales, enjoy the snow at Lake Rotoiti.
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Heavy snow closed State Highway 6 at the Hope Saddle and Spooner Range south of Nelson this morning, stranding trucks and campervans on the hill in the frigid conditions.
Senior Sergeant Grant Andrews of Motueka police said the Hope Saddle was closed at 7.30am.
Four trucks were trapped on the northern side of the highway, with a further three at the summit. Two campervans were also trapped on the saddle.
Mr Andrews said the heavy snow also caused several trees to fall across SH6 in the Motupiko area through to Kohatu.
Police this morning were monitoring the situation and working out who was on the roads and, with the weather showing no signs of abating, working out how to rescue the trapped motorists and their vehicles, he said.
New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) operations manager Mark Owens said all local or back roads south of Wakefield were also closed.
The Tophouse Rd to St Arnaud was also closed this morning.
Mr Owens said NZTA electronic message boards warning motorists of road conditions were not working this morning due to a software glitch.
Kohatu's Maureen Crook was woken by flashing police lights this morning as officers stopped traffic heading south to warn drivers that the Hope Saddle was closed due to the snow and icy conditions.
Mrs Crook and husband Graeme, who recently opened their new Flat Rock Cafe in the old Kohatu Hotel, said it snowed lightly last night, and this morning it looked like more snow was on the way.
"It's cold here, it looked as if we had some sleet last night, and the rain has been continous. The Motueka River's running high," said Mrs Crook.
A TNL Group spokesman said the company had some trucks on the southern side of the Hope Saddle waiting for the road to reopen.
Lake Rotoiti School at St Arnaud was closed today and yesterday, and it was "snowing heavily" in the alpine village this morning.
MetService said the weather was going to get colder, with snow to quite low levels tomorrow. There would be more showers, snow down to 600 metres, and cold, gusty southwesterlies. Friday was expected to be fine and frosty.
David Rees of the Department of Conservation's Nelson Lakes office said there was a "good extra dumpage" of snow – about 15 centimetres – at the St Arnaud office last night.
"The trees have got a fair bit of weight on them. We don't want too much more, to be honest, or we'll be back to 2008."
The Mt Robert road was closed, and there could be some cars stuck up there, he said.
"No one's going to be moving on the roads here until the grader comes through."
The office had intention sheets for four people tramping around the lake, he said. "There may be some people going as far as the John Tait Hut; they might be stuck there for a day."
Rainbow Ski Area was closed today. A staff member said it was snowing heavily this morning, with gale-force winds.
The skifield received 45cm of snow over the past 24 hours, bringing the total covering to between 70 and 130cm.
It was expected to open once the storm had passed and staff could get the field ready, she said.
"There's a lot of snow up there, and we're just working on keeping the road clear at the moment."
Helen Campbell, who lives at Wairau Pass by the Rainbow Valley turnoff, was snowed in today.
"It's pretty phenomenal at this time of year. When we had the big snow in 2008, that was mid-August, so this is a month earlier."
She wasn't worried about being housebound but expected to be unable to get to a meeting in Richmond tomorrow.
Wind blew away a lot of snow yesterday, but it was 30cm deep today, she said.
Barbara Stirrup was also snowed in at St Arnaud. "I'm stuck – there's two feet of snow and it's coming down in big, thick flakes," she said.
"It's like a Christmas wonderland."
However, she had only 1 1/2 days' supply of firewood inside, and was going to dig out snow-covered wood and dry it out.
The thick snow and frigid winds lashing St Arnaud were not enough to deter a trio of hardy backpackers from jumping into the icy waters of Lake Rotoiti.
Brothers Felix and Louis Cryer of Wales, along with friend Chris Bond of Exeter, England, took the plunge yesterday afternoon.
Thick, wet snow started falling at lake level in the village and the surrounding roads yesterday morning, leaving it looking like a scene from a northern hemisphere Christmas card.
St Arnaud resident Jenny Young was not taking any chances, stopping to fit tyre chains to her car yesterday. She was helped by contractors from Downer, who were grading and gritting the roads.
She was returning from a holiday in Feilding, and her neighbours phoned to warn her that she would need chains to get up her driveway.
Tutaki Valley farmer Simon Blakemore said the weather was "bloody awful" there. "Everyone's grizzling about it."
The Buller River was "very high".
Mr Blakemore has had no cellphone coverage since Sunday, after a tower was damaged on Mt Murchison.
He said the foul weather had been really hard on his animals.
"It's just too continuous. There has just been no let-up.
"It's supposed to improve on Friday. We're waiting with bated breath."
- The Nelson Mail
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Wednesday, July 13, 2011
JOHN SAYS - 'Old home town looks a bit cool ' - Big chill descends on Nelson - news - nelson-mail | Stuff.co.nz
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