Northern Storm Clears Sunday, An Extra Dusting For Canterbury

New Zealand Daily Snow

By Mike O'Connor, Meteorologist Posted 1 day ago July 3, 2025

Summary

A front brought 10–12 cm of snow to the South Island on Thursday. Ruapehu had rain and strong winds, closing Turoa. More rain hits the North Island Friday–Saturday. Light snow (5–10 cm) and cloud for the South Island clears by Sunday, with fine weather into Monday.

Short Term Forecast

Forecast for Friday 4th & Saturday 5th July

Friday brings mostly clear skies above the low cloud in the Southern Lakes, while Canterbury stays overcast with snow setting in overnight. Ruapehu deals with rain and strong northwesterlies.

Saturday sees lingering low cloud in the Southern Lakes, affecting visibility low down but offering blue skies up high. Canterbury stays socked in with light snowfall, and Ruapehu remains wet until evening when rain finally clears as winds shift southeast.

Forecast for Sunday 6th to Tuesday 8th July

Sunny skies and light winds dominate Sunday and Monday across all ski fields, with lingering cloud clearing early in Canterbury, while Tuesday starts fine before cloud and northeast winds build ahead of a front.

Extended Forecast

Mid next week (Wednesday 9th or Thursday 10th), weak fronts from the west are set to bring mild northerlies, light rain, and some high snow to South Island ski areas.

By the weekend, another Tasman low could hit the North Island, delivering heavy rain and high snow to Ruapehu, while colder easterlies and southerlies may bring decent snowfalls to the South Island, especially in Canterbury.