Snow cripples New Zealand in rare polar blast

Aug 14, 2011, 21:03 GMT

Wellington - Much of New Zealand was at a standstill Monday after a rare weather front from the Antarctic dumped massive snowfall over huge areas of the country, closing roads, airports and schools.

The South Island took the brunt of the storm, but the capital, Wellington, at the foot of the North Island, had its heaviest snowfall in 40 years. Meteorologists warned it would get worse during the day with snow predicted to fall on the hills surrounding Auckland, 660 kilometres further north.

Snow fell to sea level in many areas, and authorities warned people in the worst-affected regions to stay indoors.

Most main roads in the South Island were impassable, and police closed the two main highways linking Auckland and Wellington. Airports were shut in Christchurch, Queenstown and Dunedin, where 150 stranded passengers were forced to stay the night.

The MetService described it as a once-in-a-lifetime storm and said more heavy snowfalls were likely before the weather cleared toward the end of the week.