A warm front across the South Island means the opening of Treble Cone Ski Area has been delayed by 24 hours.

Cardrona-Treble Cone chief mountains officer Laura Hedley said the opening day, which was scheduled for tomorrow (Friday June 27), had been pushed back to Saturday (June 28) due to the warm front.

The Cardrona Alpine Resort event to celebrate the opening of Soho Basin has also been pushed back by a day, to Sunday June 29.

The Snow Farm has also indicated its opening day will be delayed: the cross country ski area’s website advises visitors to check the Snow report on Saturday.

Metservice meteorologist Michael Pawley said the warmer weather was caused by the ‘foehn effect’, where heavy rain and strong winds on the West Coast release heat as they descend over the mountain ranges.

He said the good news is southerlies will be directed at Central Otago over the weekend.

Metservice has put out a heavy snow watch for inland Otago and Canterbury, overnight Friday and Saturday, while on both coasts there will be more heavy rain coming.

PHOTO: Supplied