Weather turns from ice to nice
25 June 2006
By EMMA PAGE and MATHEW LOH HO-SANG



Mother Nature looks set to give New Zealand a break this week.

The country has been in the grips of the coldest June for 15 years, but MetService meteorologist Bob McDavitt said sunny weather should kickstart a thaw as an anti-cyclone, followed by a northerly, is due to move across most of the country this week.

'When the northerly comes, the snow will thaw,' he said.

Most previously closed North Island roads reopened yesterday, but police were still urging motorists to take care and drive to the conditions. In the eastern North Island, SH38 between Tuai and Waikaremoana remained closed and extreme care was needed on SH35 between Ruatoria and Te Puia Springs and Hicks Bay, where landslips were causing delays.

All roads were open in the South Island but the AA was urging people to take extreme care and to expect delays on several roads.

Meanwhile, South Island farmers still without electricity could call a hotline (0800 997-779) set up to help people cope with the practical and emotional issues of being isolated.

Canterbury Chamber of Commerce president Peter Townsend said an analysis of the cold snap's economic impact was yet to be completed but the social cost was the big issue, especially for those still without power.

He said most businesses were fortunate and retained power but many struggled to get staff to work, with some business owners using 4WDs to ferry staff.

A spokesman for Ashburton's Baynes Spinning Wheels said the cost of moving staff around had hit the bottom line, but the spirit of helping each other had boosted the community. Wilsons Transport general manager John Petrie said normal operations were 'definitely affected', but the company had managed to pick up business by using some of its trucks to put grit on snow-clogged roads.