People in Dunedin can expect to wake up to snow on Friday as temperatures drop significantly.
MetService said a "freezing drop" in temperatures will occur in the city overnight on Thursday.
Weather forecaster Paul Ngamanu told Newshub cold fronts are coming in from Antarctica, and heading over to the deep south of New Zealand.
Ngamanu said people in Dunedin should be prepared to wake up to "some really cold frosts" on Friday.
His advice to people waking up on Friday is to dress appropriately in "something very warm" and to "make sure you have the heaters running".
"We are expecting that snow to lower right down to sea level on Friday and it's possible people will wake up to snow," he said.
Although some mountains will likely see a blanket of snow, he said "it won't stick around for long and will clear up pretty quickly".
Mountains above 200m to turn white overnight
Ngamanu said it will be "near freezing" on some of the hills in Dunedin, and people can expect "significant snowfall" on a few mountains in particular.
- Mount Cargill (700m)
- Flagstaff (680m)
- Saddle Hill (480m)
- Signal Hill (390m)
- Harbour Cone (320m)
He said Mount Cargill "will definitely be getting that snow" and "any precipitation falling will settle on those hills".
"We are expecting those temperatures to get really low, so it's a possibility those mountains will be hit with most of that snowfall."
Warm temperatures ahead of the cold snap
Ngamanu said temperatures ahead of Friday are looking "relatively moderate" with a few afternoon showers expected tomorrow, "settled and fine temperatures" on Wednesday and a few showers expected on Thursday.
"It tends to happen regularly, ahead of the cold front we get those warmer temperatures," he explained.
"Tomorrow there is a high of 19C with a few showers, Wednesday's high is looking like 20C with fine weather and then 21C on Thursday with the odd shower".
However, he said on Thursday night, temperatures will "drop right down" to 3C before Friday's temperature will sit at a high of 8C.
"We could expect snowfall down to sea level on the Friday but Saturday looks more settled, with no significant cold frosts."
