Winter arrived in the South Island over the holiday weekend, leaving its mark with snow-clad hills and treacherous roads.

The Southern Alps were coated with snow down to low levels, providing a scenic vista as the skies cleared when a southerly front moved away early yesterday.

The front brought freezing temperatures to much of the South Island, as well as snow and hailstorms throughout the weekend.

Temperatures stayed low yesterday, with a maximum of just 8deg in Christchurch.

In Queenstown, temperatures ranged between -1deg and 6deg, while in Dunedin, where icy conditions closed the Northern Motorway for a short time, they ranged between 1deg and 10deg.

For the first time this winter, snow settled near the summit of Banks Peninsula.

Hilltop Tavern owner Laurie Sutton said the light dusting of snow was enough to attract many visitors, including families from Christchurch.

"People love to come up here when it snows," she said.

The snow was earlier than in previous years.

The icy blast also brought welcome snow to the southern skifields, including 15cm at Mount Hutt and a dusting for most of the Central Otago fields.

At Mount Hutt, 120 new staff from all over the world had induction training as the field prepares to open this weekend.

Late yesterday afternoon, the Automobile Association issued a road warning for the lower half of the South Island, advising of ice in many places.

The warning remained in place last night. Police said drivers were driving to the conditions and no serious accidents were reported.

MetService weather ambassador Bob McDavitt said conditions across the South Island should remain clear but cold today.

Another southerly expected later in the week could bring showers and snow down to low levels, he said.