Queenstown feeling the pinch as snow stays away

Organisers of the Queenstown Winter Festival are already counting the cost of a lack of snow two days out from the annual party.

Some festivities are being canned because of the conditions, and the forecast is not getting any better.

Frustration is growing among members of the ski industry as officials wait for enough snow to fall to open the fields.

And in Queenstown hundreds of food parcels are being handed out to help staff cope.

"We're doing our best as a company to ensure that we feed them lunches, dinner, we provide food parcels for them," NZ Ski chief executive James Coddington said.

Coronet Peak, The Remarkables and Mt Hutt planned to open earlier this month, but scientists say winter temperatures are staying unusually warm. Treble Cone near Lake Wanaka is also delaying opening.

And for a town that relies heavily on skiers, it is tough.

"It's very hard to put a dollar figure on it but certainly the skiers are a huge part of our winter season, we really do rely on them," Graham Budd from Destination Queenstown said.

Festival director Simon Green said events scheduled to take place on the mountains will have to be cancelled. It would be the first time in 37 years the ski fields would not be opened.

He said the 10-day event, to start on Friday, usually pumps up to $55 million into the local economy and the lack of snow isn't just concerning for the festival, but for the whole community.

Other skifields throughout the country were due to open this weekend, but most have had to delay.

Scientists say it is very unusual and it looks like the country could be following a record warm May with a near record high June.

"The last time we had a couple of months in a row that were actual all time records for the day was back in the 1930s," Niwa scientist James Renwick said.

"So it's a pretty rare event, maybe happens once every hundred years or so."

And to further challenge the skifields, it is not possible to make snow because of temperature inversion where it is actually colder on the ground than it is up the mountain.

"We're getting inversions of up to 10 degrees from the valley floor up to the top of the mountain," Coddington said.

Coddington told TV ONE's AMP Business this morning he didn't think the industry could have been given any more challenges, with the warm weather combining with continuing aftershocks in Christchurch and flight disruptions due to the Chilean ash cloud.

He said all the factors were out of their control and they just have to wait and hope the weather turns.

He said the delays were costing the industry millions of dollars a week.

"Every day we get closer to school holidays, it costs us more and more."

He said the Australian market, which makes up 60% of visitors, is crucial to the industry, but with Australian school holidays starting this weekend, things are looking uncertain.

"For us not to be open going into Australian school holidays is very significant financially."

Budd said they are "charging ahead" because 85% of the events are in and around town. And locals hope the celebrations might send the vibes to start the snow falling.