Police requested Christchurch locals stay at home after snow swamped the entire city on Monday 25th July.
It began falling overnight on the 24th July and continued on and off during the day. Although snow is not that unusual in the city, the volume and accumulation of this fall was.
Christchurch People Enjoy a Day in the Snow
Police requests for people to stay off the roads in Christchurch following large snow falls on the 24th and 25th July were broadcast by radio and television. This meant that the majority of businesses remained closed for the duration of the day.
Most stores in suburban shopping centres and malls were also closed with only large supermarkets and retailers opening their doors. Those stores that did open reported a lack of staff and people were using the self checkout tills instead.
The snow eased off for a while in the morning and the streets and parks were soon inhabited by children and adults building snowmen and throwing snowballs. By midday snow started falling heavily again driving the majority of people back indoors.
Christchurch Grinds to a Halt Due to Snow Falls
The heavy snowfalls across Christchurch initially caused the cancellation of all flights in and out of the airport. By midday the Christchurch Airport website reported that flights were disrupted and that passengers should contact individual airlines to check on the status of their flights.
A social worker said she couldn’t be happier about missing work for the day. “I get a day off work and had fun building a snowman in the garden.”
A mechanic said it was better to freeze at home than at work. “I stayed in bed for a while and then played with the dog in the snow.”
Christchurch City Council sent updates to Facebook confirming rubbish collection in certains areas and passing on a message from Orion (an electricity distribution company). This was to ask people to clean snow off their heat pump cooling box, so that it would function efficiently.
Christchurch Finds Humour in the Snow
By the morning of the 25th July, a humorous comment was circulating on Facebook saying ‘The snow in Christchurch is the icing on the quake.’
The whole city was covered in snow transforming homes, parks and office blocks as well as softening the harshness of earthquake-damaged buildings and warped roads.
People were generally upbeat in the city. Strangers chatted in the supermarkets and neighbours caught up while shovelling snow and photographing their streets. Boy racers were seen doing skids around corners and children rolled massive snow balls and played freely.
The New Zealand Metservice said the snow should begin to ease off by mid afternoon but temperatures would remain low.
Debbie Roome - Debbie Roome is an award-winning freelance writer, journalist and novelist with over 25 years experience.
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