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A surprise snowfall has turned summer to winter in the south, with falls reportedly setting on Porter's Pass this afternoon.

An Antarctic blast is sweeping up the country, dropping temperatures to single digits and bringing chilly wind, hail and rain.

Weather Watch's Andy Thompson reported snow falling in Porter's Pass between Christchurch and the West Coast as he travelled through this afternoon, and a temperature of three degrees Celsius.

"It's absolutely freezing. It was coming through fairly thick. There was no way I was getting out of the car I was only wearing shorts," Thompson said.

"It's insane. You don't expect to be driving through falling snow in the middle of January."

Thompson said as he drove through Springfield, the temperature rose to 6 degrees, then to 18 degrees as he hit Hokitika.

Weather Watch reported similar temperatures in Gore, where it dropped to 8 degrees, Invercargill (9) and Dunedin (11).

Met Service said the front would clear the North Island this evening.

Hawke's Bay, Wairarapa and Wellington could expect cold southerlies and showers spreading north this afternoon, with possible thunderstorms and hail in Wairarapa.

Nelson, Buller and Westland would have heavy showers, while the remainder of the South Island had cold southwesterlies, showers, and thunder.

The remainder of the South Island would see cold southwesterlies and showers, some heavy and possibly thundery with hail, especially in North Canterbury and Marlborough this afternoon.

Showers easing tonight, then clearing tomorrow leaving cloudy areas.

Most of the country was expected to be clear tomorrow.

Airlines given permission to fly over North Pole for the first time slashing the hours to exotic destinations

Air passengers will be able to cut the times of long-haul flights by as much as half and fly faster to exotic destinations under a new relaxation of aviation rules.

It could also mean cheaper and cleaner flights for British holidaymakers.

The new rules will allow carriers operating in the South Pacific, to take a 'short cut' over the North Pole for the first time.

While pilots from Australia taking passengers to South America will be able to steer more direct courses making big savings in time, fuel and emissions.

Until now, Boeing’s 777 and the new 787 ‘Dreamliner’ jets had for safety reasons to stay within a  three hour range (180 minutes) of the nearest diversion airport.

Under the new rules, that has been nearly doubled to five and a half hours, (330 minutes) taking account of improvements in aircraft and engine  technology.

It means, for example, that planes from the UK  will be able to take a non-stop flight - dubbed 'Santa's short cut' - over  the North Pole to destinations such as Hawaii, Alaska or French Polynesia.

It also means shorter journeys, cheaper flights, less fuel, and lower emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) - the so-called greenhouse gas’ blamed for global warming.

The ‘extended operations’ rules define the time that an aircraft is permitted to be from an emergency landing site in case of an engine failure and is applied to two-engine jets.

It follows a decision  by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to allow up  to 330-minutes ‘extended operations’ for Boeings'  777 fleet.

It allows airlines operating Boeing  777-300ER (extended range), 777-200LR (longer range), 777 Freighter and 777-200ER models equipped with General Electric engines to fly up to 330 minutes from a potential ‘diversion’ airport.

Approval for the Boeing 777-200ER equipped with British Rolls-Royce and American Pratt & Whitney engines is expected to follow over the next few months.

The first airline to take advantage of the new longer ‘extended operations’ option is Air New Zealand which earlier this month flew from Los Angeles to Auckland.

Capt. David Morgan, chief pilot for Air New Zealand said: ‘What this means is that the aeroplane  is able to fly a straighter route between pairs of cities and that's good for the environment.

‘Less fuel is burned and less carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere. It's also good for customers because flights are potentially shorter and passengers could arrive sooner at their destinations.’

Virgin Atlantic airline president Sir Richard Branson said: 'This new development really does open up a whole new world.

'Our new fleet of 787s could well be flying to Honolulu or even Fiji one day.'

A light aircraft has crashed into a crowded slum near Manila's international airport, killing 13 people, including three children.

Three people were unaccounted for and about 10 others were injured after the twin-engine, four-seater plane crashed shortly after take-off, police inspector Enrique Sy told reporters. All three on board were killed.

"So far, we have recovered 13 badly burned bodies in the crash site, including one near the wreckage," he said, adding it was impossible to identify the victims.

Paranaque city mayor, Florencio Bernabe, said hundreds of residents were left homeless by a fire sparked by the crash. It destroyed dozens of shanty homes and part of a three-storey school building. 

 News by Stuff.co.nz

THIS large creepy-crawly has a huge craving for carrots – and that’s not the only thing she’s big on.

Discovered up a tree, this giant weta has been declared the largest ever found – weighing the equivalent of three mice.

The insect, with a 7in wing span, was found by American bug lover Mark Moffett, 53, on Little Barrier Island, in New Zealand.

Mark, 53, said: “The giant weta is the largest insect in the world, and this is the biggest ever found.