By late on the night of the 22nd, snow was falling heavily in Fiordland, eastern Southland, coastal Otago and Dunedin.

Near-blizzard conditions in Otago and Southland closed roads and schools and had vehicles crashing off icy roads.

State Highway 6 was closed between Makarora (Otago) and Haast (West Coast) on the 22nd and 23rd. State Highway 8 between Omarama (Canterbury) and Tarras (Otago) was closed on the 23rd. State Highway 93 between Clinton (Otago) and Mataura (Southland) was closed on the 23rd.

The weather was described as cold wintry blasts.

Snow fell in coastal areas of Southland and Otago but did not lie.

Reefton received about 8 cm of snow - the largest snowfall there since 1969.

Haast Pass on State Highway 6 was closed by snow on the 22nd.

State Highway 83 from Kurow to Omarama was closed on the 22nd due to snow.

State Highway 80 to Mt Cook was closed on the 22nd due to snow.

About 10 cm of snow accumulated from the 20th to the 24th.

Roads were icy and treacherous. There were 14 state highways closures on the 21st.

Central Otago was isolated on the 22nd, as all the highways were affected by compacted ice.

Heavy snow on the 22nd shut down the Wakatipu Basin, with roads impassable.

Schools and some retailers in the Wakatipu Basin were forced to close.

State Highway 6 between Arrow Junction and Cromwell was closed on the 23rd.

On the 21st there were several accidents in the region.

A West Otago farming couple spent 30 hours without power at the weekend and lost telephone coverage on the 24th after 15cm of snow fell.

Alexandra recorded a minimum air temperature of -9 degC.

There was a four-vehicle crash on State Highway 1, 3km south of Balclutha, at 7:20pm on the 22nd, in which a truck ended up on its roof.

Coronet Peak Skifield was forced to close due to icy conditions on the access road.

Dunedin police reported snow falling in Dunedin overnight on the 22nd, and snow was still falling on the afternoon of the 23rd.

About 150 cars were reported stuck on Dunedin's northern motorway before it was closed on the night of the 22nd.

There were drifts at Heriot of up to 3m across roads and 1m in most places.

An international student from Malaysia died on the 22nd when the car she was a passenger in slid off the Makarora-Lake Hawea Road on State Highway 6 and crashed into Lake Wanaka.

The three other women in the car were taken to hospital suffering from hypothermia.

Lindis Pass on State Highway 8 was closed on the 22nd and 23rd.

Flights at Queenstown Airport were dusrupted by snow on the 21st. A Qantas flight was diverted to Invercargill. The airport was unable to operate on the 22nd due to snow and ice, disrupting the travel plans of 1700 people. Flights were again cancelled into Queenstown on the morning of the 23rd.

Schools in Queenstown were shut on the 21st after steady snow.

Snow and blizzard conditions forced the cancellation of Queenstown Winter Festival events. The opening of the Queenstown Winter Festival was cancelled on the night of the 22nd due to snow conditions, for what was thought to be the first time in its 33-year history. Some other events had to be cancelled or postponed until the 27th.

Queenstown was practically cut off from the rest of the country on the 22nd after most roads became impassable. Only one road to Invercargill was open at the Kingston end of town.

People left their cars in ditches, waiting for the weather to improve.

Skifields in the Queenstown area were closed as treacherous roads made access difficult.

Queenstown recorded a minimum air temperature of -6.5 degC.

About 80 pupils of Blue Mountain School in Tapanui did not make it to school after rural bus runs were cancelled.

Tara Hills, Omarama, recorded a minimum air temperature of -10.8 degC on the 22nd.

About 10 cm of snow accumulated from the 20th to the 24th.

Roads were icy and treacherous. The Te Anau-Milford highway (State Highway 94) was closed beyond Hollyford Corner on the 22nd and 23rd, as snow blanketed the alpine sections. Many southern centres were cut off from the remainder of the country by road closures.

The Blackmount-Redcliff Road reopened on the afternoon of the 22nd after being closed earlier.

Heavy snow brought down power lines in an area from Clinton west to Orawia.

Snow was beginning to melt in many places on the 24th and roads were reopened, but gusty winds and sleet showers continued to pound the countryside.

Snow settled in the hills surrrounding Gore.

Gore recorded a minimum temperature of -4.6 degC.

Rain and sleet was falling in Invercargill on the 23rd, and temperatures were very cold.

In the worst accident, two people were injured when a schoolbus with two passengers on board slid off the road and tipped over 30km east of Invercargill at around 5pm. The driver was taken to hospital andf it was believed one of the pupils got minor injuries.

Invercargill recorded a minimum temperature of -3.1 degC.

A campervan ran off State Highway 1 near Tuatapere on the afternoon of the 24th, but there were no injuries.

A stock truck-and-trailer unit tipped going south near Waipahi on the afternoon of the 22nd, killing 150 sheep.

The truck driver suffered minor injuries.

High school pupils from outlying areas of Wyndham were sent home at lunchtime after snow started settling in hills around the town.