Wild winter weather

[Dawn]

I think this is on of the beautiful things about NZ, it is full of little micro-climates. Honestly, what's happening next door at the bottom of the hill is completely different to what's happening to you at the top of the hill and what's happening half an acre down the road is completely different again. No two places are the same.

The other thing I love is that the sun keeps shining. We have yet to not see the sun shine in one 24 hours. It was rainy last week, rain we needed I might add, to keep our water tank filled , but even though we had torrential rain, we continued to have sunny interludes. It's not continual weeks of grey, cold, damp misery like where we were in the Midlands, we still see the sun everyday and the sun feels warm.

It's cold at night once you step away from that log burner eh? And getting up for a wee in the middle of the night has you shivering your butt off and diving back under the covers. Mornings have you searching for that dressing gown on the floor next to the bed so you can pull it under the quilt and shrug it on before daring to venture forth. But come on, I remember waking up as a kid with ice on the inside of the windows - never did us any harm and what's more, I don 't remember feeling cold. Same reason I suppose, why Poppy's happy running round in shorts and a t-shirt and nothing else. And yes, I do ask her to put something warmer on to which her response is to look at me with those 'oh for goodness sake' eyes and say, 'Mummy, if I were cold I would but I'm not so why do I have to?' And why does she have to? To appease me? I think not.

Interesting what Nicky says though, about being excited about snow. I'm quite happy for you guys to keep it down there on the SI I love snow when it first falls but after that We can be in the snowfields in an hour and a half and that'll do me.

[nickydwuk]

I love the snow - until it turns to slush. That's all we seem to get here unless you are up really early. It does make driving difficult though. How do you manage in NZ if they don't grit the roads?

[Meadow]

Yeah Dawn,the ice on the windows i had that when my eldest kids were young in a council house in Glasgow.Nightmare.
It was so cold then we all shared a bedroom and the living room only had a 2 burner electric fire.
It was such an effort to get up in the mornings.
The condensation was horrific as we had to end up using 2 calor gas fires.
I rememeber one time the delivery guy didnt show with our gas and we had to go and stay at my mums for the night.
Actually ended up staying at my mums quite a bit then as she had a cosy gas fire.
I think thats why here i dont mind the winter.
Its so bright and as you say warm in the sun.
The air smells lovely with all the log burners.
And the good thing is with me at home just now during the day,i have burner going all day with bedroom doors open and it heats the rooms up not bad.
We also have wee convectors.
Nicoles the same goes about with tee shirts,the only thing is she keeps saying "its freezing in here"
She eventually puts on a hoodie.
Nicky I thought i heard gritters here one night,not 100% tho.
I cant answer that one as i havent had to drive in it yet,havent heard Colin complain though.
My mum was asking last night are the winters worse than Glasgow,and so far i think they are the same.
Nowhere near as much traffic disruptions though,according to Colin.
Granted this house is colder than the one i left,but i still would much rather be here.

[MotherBear]

Spring fever for Wellington
The Dominion Post | Monday, 14 July 2008

It almost felt as if spring was in the air as Wellingtonians basked in weather of up to 17 degrees celsius, grateful Friday night's storm was behind them.

Many Wellingtonians whipped off their shirts and shoes and took to the beach for a spot of unseasonal cricket as others lingered around the bays and sipped coffees in the sun.

Much of New Zealand took a pounding on Friday night, with a trough hitting the West Coast of the South Island early on Friday and moving across the country.

MetService forecaster Ian Miller said 175 millimetres of rain fell in the upper parts of the Tararuas over 12 hours, and Mt Taranaki was doused with 400mm of rain in 24 hours.

The storm was replaced by a ridge over most of New Zealand yesterday, and though the odd shower fell in places, most of the country enjoyed fine and relatively mild weather. Mr Miller said the settled weather should continue in most of the lower North Island till Wednesday.

Then a northeasterly flow would bring more mild weather, with some rain in the north and west of both islands.

But there's also some bad news: "It's not looking so good for next weekend," he said.

From here.

[Cliff]

The sun is a big deal here.

If you get all day sun (when it is there to be had) your house will be warmer and drier. When looking at a house definitely look at how the daily sun hits the house. It will be a nicer place to live if it has all day sun. If it is shielded by another house, trees, or a hill it will be colder and you will pay higher electric rates to make up for it.

Do not under estimate the suns importance on a home in New Zealand.

[MotherBear]

Clean-up after worst storm in decade (+photos)
Page 1 of 2 ....Updated 12:25PM Sunday July 27, 2008
By Jared Savage, Alice Hudson, Michelle Coursey and Debrin Foxcroft

Efforts are continuing to restore power to thousands of homes after one of the worst storms to hit New Zealand in 10 years.

The weather bomb left a trail of destruction across the North Island, cutting power to more than 60,000 homes.

Northland was hardest hit, with winds of up to 167km/h bringing down trees and power lines, and heavy rain flooding roads.

The MetService today dropped its severe weather warning for the region but thousands of homes there remain without electricity.

About 3,500 homes in the Rodney District, Waiheke Island, North Shore and west Auckland are still reported to be without power after cuts last night affected some 53,000 properties.

More here.

[Welshgirl]

Jeez, we must be lucky in Hamilton then, the wind picked up quite a lot but nowhere near the 160kmph mark and no damage to our house or any around our area - in fact, it was positively mild!

When I heard the weather forecast for that storm, I was sat outside in the gorgeous sunshine and it was pretty hard to believe that sort of weather was on the way but, NZ weather being as changeable as it is, it didn't surprise me in the slightest

Hope everyone out there is ok and your properties stayed undamaged!

[MotherBear]

Originally Posted by Welshgirl

Jeez, we must be lucky in Hamilton then

You know what they say, 'God looks after his own'.

And there's more.

After the storm, another one
By MARK STEVENS - Stuff.co.nz | Monday, 28 July 2008

The MetService has issued another severe storm warning today, as the mop-up continues from the weekend's wild weather.

It will leave little time for emergency service workers to regroup, with the next system - a depression approaching from the north Tasman Sea - bearing down and expected to bring heavy rain and severe gales to most of the country from tomorrow.

The MetService said the next storm would affect many parts of the North Island already suffering from the impact of the weekend weather bomb.

"A burst of heavy rain is expected in most areas in the north of the North Island, however, sustained heavy rain should affect Northland, the Coromandel Peninsula, western Bay of Plenty and Gisborne from Tuesday afternoon or evening and continue into Wednesday," the MetService warning said.

"Gale force northeast winds are likely in exposed places but at this stage the winds are not expected to be as strong as during Saturday's events.

"However, trees and buildings badly affected during the weekends storms may experience further damage."

The MetService warned people to watch out for rapidly rising streams and rivers, and hazardous driving conditions. People should keep up to date with the latest warnings.

The MetService is expected to issue an updated severe weather warning at or before 9pm tonight.

The northern end of the country was hardest hit by the deep depression over the weekend, which forecasters described as the worst in 10 years.

The storm led to three deaths, power supply being cut off to thousands of homes and road closures. Two of those killed were crew from the fishing boat San Cuvier.

Environmental officers are today keeping a close eye on any potential fuel spill from the boat, which was dashed on rocks near Opotiki.

The vessel is wedged on the rugged Bay of Plenty coastline and its location and the conditions mean it has been impossible to get salvage equipment in.

Regional harbourmaster Carl Magazinovic has flown over the site to check if fuel is leaking. So far, there appeared to be no contamination of the sea.

Environment Bay of Plenty has an oil spill response team ready to act if any diesel leakage was detected.

"This morning we are continuing to keep a close eye on the grounded ship and will work with other organisations, including Maritime New Zealand,'' Mr Magazinovic said.

"Any diesel that may leak from the ship would quickly evaporate and disperse by natural means in these conditions,'' he said.

In addition to the two members of the San Cuvier crew who died, searchers recovered the body of canoeist James Moore from Matakana Island in Tauranga Harbour.

Mr Moore set off in severe conditions from Maketu, 40km southeast of Tauranga, in an outrigger canoe.

One of his companions had turned back and the other two made it safely to Mt Maunganui, police said.

It was possible a 38-year-old man who died in a house fire in the Waikato township of Meremere about 3am yesterday will be counted as another storm victim.

It was believed the fire started from a candle he was using in the bedroom during a power outage caused by high winds.

His 12-year-old daughter was pulled out of the house by firefighters and was taken to Middlemore Hospital in South Auckland suffering from smoke inhalation.

The girl's mother and two other children, both under three, escaped unhurt.

- With NZPA

From here.

[MotherBear]

It's still going on.

[MotherBear]

Insurance costs spiral as third storm nears
Updated 12:51PM Saturday August 02, 2008
By Juliet Rowan

As the third storm in a week heads for the upper North Island, insurance payouts from the first two big storms could reach $50 million.

A deep, fast moving low and associated fronts are forecast to cross northern and central New Zealand this weekend, bringing strong winds and rain.

The Insurance Council says it is still early days, but the widespread nature of the storms and their ongoing impact could see costs skyrocket.

It says the consequences of climate change are now forcing increases in premiums.

Civil Defence is keeping a close eye on rivers in the Waikato region. The Waipa River system and the Waikato River are running high and are being monitored by Environment Waikato and Mighty River Power.

The heaviest rain is expected about higher areas from Taranaki across to the Central Plateau and eastern Bay of Plenty, including Taumarunui,Waitomo and the headwaters of the Whanganui River.

It means more flooding, slips and treacherous conditions on the roads.

More here.