Updated 9M, Friday - Ashburton District Council’s emergency management team is keeping a close eye on conditions following snow and heavy rain warnings for Canterbury.

Residents are being encouraged to take care on the roads, and keep an eye on MetService for the latest weather updates.

If the weather disrupts essential services, updates will be posted to this page and on the Council Facebook page.

Current Weather Warnings

• MetService has an Orange Heavy Snow Warning for inland Canterbury north of the Rangitata River from 8pm Friday until 2am Saturday. We can expect a further 5 to 10 cm of snow to accumulate above 400 metres. Note, periods of heavy rain are possible below the snow level, and rainfall amounts may approach warning criteria.
  
  Ashburton town sits at 90 metres above sea level, Methven at 320 metres and Rakaia at 110 metres.
• A Heavy Rain Watch remains in place for the Canterbury Plains from 8pm Friday until 3am Saturday. We can expect further periods of heavy rain. Rainfall amounts may approach warning criteria.

State Highways

Waka Kotahi is monitoring state highways throughout the South Island and has the latest closures and conditions on its Journey Planner Journey planner | Waka Kotahi Journey Planner (nzta.govt.nz)

SH1 Ashburton River bridge

Waka Kotahi has an alert process for the bridge and monitors flood levels and debris build-up during heavy rain events. Any precautionary closure will be issued by Waka Kotahi and shared by Council.

Find out more:

• Get tips for preparing for storms and flooding at getready.govt.nz
• Keep an eye on weather forecasts at MetService - Te Ratonga Tirorangi
• Local road closures will be posted on our live Road Closures Map (arcgis.com)
• River flow data is available on ECan's website  River flow data | Environment Canterbury (ecan.govt.nz)