2011 New Zealand snowstorms

. On 25 July 2011, New Zealand was gripped by its coldest winter snap in fifteen years. The lowest temperature set during the month was at Manapouri (in the southwest corner of the South Island) on 26 July, which was a new record for the town. Christchurch Airport recorded its second-coldest day on 25 July. The severe winter storm was well predicted, with forecasters warning of the potential of heavy snow down to sea level in the south and east of the South Island and to low levels in the North Island. This snowstorm was especially threatening as it was the school holidays, and many people were travelling. Up to of snow was recorded in parts of Christchurch, the heaviest recorded there in sixteen years. The snowfalls also flattened sand dunes in Brighton and completely coated nearby Sumner Beach. 1,700 homes within the Christchurch metropolitan area were without power. The city's bus service was also shut down for almost two days. Various highways were closed, including parts of State Highway 1 between Invercargill and Dunedin and State Highway 94, the road from Te Anau into Milford Sound. The storms lasted for roughly three days, before subsiding and returning early in the following month. ==14–15 August 2011==

on 14 August A few days before this date, forecasters were warning of a severe snowstorm heading for New Zealand, even going as far as calling it the "perfect snowstorm". Snow fell consistently down to sea level in Wellington for the first time since 1976, and snow even fell for a brief time in Auckland for the first time in 80 years. The storms also caused airport closures in those centres. The Christchurch and Dunedin Donor Centres were closed and Westport and Mosgiel mobile collections were cancelled as a result of bad weather. The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) closed access to Christchurch's earthquake-damaged red zone due to potential safety hazards. The snow caused power outages in rural areas of Canterbury, namely Rakaia, Westmelton, Leeston and Greendale due to fallen tree branches. Power was lost to around 4,000 homes in South Taranaki, Manawatu, Whanganui, and Wairarapa. Although Wellington received its largest snowfall in 30 years, the South Island received the most during the storms, with some regions receiving snowfall of up to 20–30 cm. The storm was reportedly the worst since 1939 when snow fell on the top of Maungawhau / Mount Eden and the outer suburbs of Auckland, a city which does not generally receive any snowfall. ==Impact==

Many homes around the country were without power, due to trees falling on power lines. Widespread road closures occurred across the Otago region on the South Island. Many ski resorts were completely closed due to being covered in dangerous amounts of snow and suffering damage to infrastructure. ==See also==