Snow problems ease in south, but ice returning

Icy winter storm appears to have loosened its grip on parts of the country but forecasters are predicting one last blast with snow, hail and squalls pushing in from the south.

WeatherWatch.co.nz head weather analyst Philip Duncan said people should not be fooled if the sun was shining in their area.

The North Island was in for round two with a second pool of cloud, snow, hail and squalls pushing in from the south and southwest, he said.

Sleet fell in parts of west Auckland, with snow clouds clearly visible over the city - an extremely unusual sight for the region.

The heaviest snow in decades has fallen along the Kaimai Ranges, with heavy snow clearly seen above 500m and lighter snow estimated to have fallen to about 300m on Mt Te Aroha.

The next burst of energy is likely to be the last main one. It brought blizzards to Christchurch and other parts of Canterbury this morning and was now moving towards Wellington and southern Wairarapa, and in the west moving over Taranaki and up the west coast towards northern and central parts of the North Island.

Heavy snow continues to fall at Stratford, Taranaki, and WeatherWatch.co.nz says more is to come this afternoon before easing and clearing.

Heavy isolated hail storms are also expected right up into Auckland and beyond.

It snowed in parts of Wellington, down to sea level, but was isolated and not settling, Mr Duncan said.

The secondary burst could bring snow to the top of the Waitakeres during isolated squally showers, with a higher chance of snow on the Hunua Ranges to the south and the Coromandel ranges to the east.

Christchurch, Queenstown and Dunedin Airport have all cleared their runways of snow, and limited flights resumed on Monday afternoon.

Lines company Orion says power has been restored to all but a few small pockets in Canterbury, with about 50 homes still without power.

About 1,700 homes in Christchurch were without power earlier on Monday afternoon, including homes in the earthquake-affected suburbs of Burwood and Spencerville.

In Christchurch, where Radio New Zealand reporters measured snow as deep as 15cm, it was falling as fast as contractors could clear it on major routes, including around the four avenues.

Christchurch Airport incident controller Geoff Eban says staff tried to clear snow from the runways and aircraft parking areas for much of the day with snow ploughs and a grader, but each time they did so, more snow fell.

The Fire Service reported power lines down in Christchurch and Rakaia, while tree branches fell on to roads with the weight of snow.

St John Ambulance attended 19 incidents, in which people were injured by slipping on ice or snow, around the South Island during the morning.

Some firms are reporting only a handful of personnel were able to make it in to work.