Christchurch and Canterbury south of Amberley is under a heavy rain watch, while there's a heavy snow watch for the high country south of the Rangitata River. Photo: MetService
A multi-faceted weather system is on its way to parts of the country, bringing rain, snow and wind and chilly temperatures.
MetService has issued orange heavy rain warnings for Banks Peninsula and the region north of Amberley, and the Kaikoura Coast and ranges from Wednesday.
There are also road snowfall warnings for the Porter's and Arthurs Passes.
Christchurch and Canterbury south of Amberley is under a heavy rain watch, while there's a heavy snow watch for the high country south of the Rangitata River.
There are strong wind watches for the Buller, Grey, Westland and Nelson Lakes districts and the Marlborough Sounds.
MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said the weather system was "multi-faceted."
"From rain to wind to snow for some inland parts of Canterbury, and associated drops in temperatures."
Further north along the Kaikoura Coast and ranges the rain warning begins around midday Wednesday and runs until Friday morning, bringing around 150 to 200 millimetres of rain.
Makgabutlane said coming after a wet start to the year, the prolonged rain could lead to rapidly rising rivers, surface flooding and difficult driving conditions.
She warned parts of the South Island are in for particularly cold weather from late Wednesday into Thursday, and single-digit maximum temperatures are expected on Thursday with highs of around 8 degrees Celsius for parts of inland Otago, while Canterbury should expect maximums of 9 or 10 degrees.
Most of the wet weather should clear for Canterbury by Saturday, with one or two showers possible towards the end of the weekend, she said.
Parts of the country are also in for very windy conditions.
The western part of the South Island will see south-easterly winds, and some areas, particularly through narrower valleys, could see periods of "quite gusty south easterlies ripping though there", Makgabutlane said.
People should take time to prepare, tying down any loose items.
The Marlborough Sounds and Wellington should also expect high winds.
"Winds are just part of life for Wellington, but we're seeing unusually windy conditions from late Wednesday into Thursday."
Interislander ferries cancelled
Interislander ferry crossings have been cancelled from Wednesday night until early Friday morning, due to forecast giant swells.
They were predicted by MetService to reach seven metres along the south coast of Wellington and Wairarapa.
The ferry company said sailings from 8.30pm on Wednesday night, through to 2.30am on Friday morning, will no longer go ahead.
Interislander said it will run extra sailings this weekend to accommodate those affected, but warned more services could be cut on Friday.
Bluebridge has not axed any sailings yet but said it may happen.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
