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Temperatures near record high in capital
The Dominion Post | Monday, 10 December 2007
KENT BLECHYNDEN/Dominion Post
HEATED COMPETITION: Junior lifesavers Robbie Baxter and Angus Hermansson in action at
Temperatures approached record highs in and around
Temperatures in
"It was steamy hot even from first thing this morning," said MetService forecaster Melanie Graham.
The highest temperature was 31C in Culverden in the
The fine spell is in sharp contrast to the far north, where heavy rain fell for much of the weekend. The bad weather is expected to continue there today.
Metservice Operations Manager Honoured
Metservice International Operations Manager Honoured In
In a ceremony recently held in Port Vila the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Vanuatu, Hon. Edward Natapei, presented MetService's International Operations Manager, Garry Clarke, an honoury Tamtam or traditional split drum that is used by chiefs to call or gather villagers together.
The award was in recognition of Mr. Clarke's exemplary meteorological and climate services to the Meteorological Communities in
Reflecting on his 41 years of service to
"It is home to El Nino southern oscillation, source of the greatest inter-annual global climate variability," he said.
"With increasing concern about human-induced climate change and sea level rise, now more than ever there is a great need to extend our understanding of the dynamics of ocean and atmospheric processes in the Pacific region."
Mr. Clarke added that the award is a reflection of the high regard that is taken of MetService for its activities and support amongst our Pacific neighbours.
MetService has this year been party to a Rescue Pacific project, along with the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Met Office UK, and US NOAA Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), to ensure weather and climate observations taken in the Islands of the Pacific meet World Meteorological Organization (WMO) standards.
By PAUL GORMAN, ROBYN BRISTOW and LAURA BASHAM - The Press | 12 Dec 2007
PETER MEECHAM/The Press
MAKING A SPLASH: Lucinda Ebbett, 16, and Olivia Maxwell, 17 cool down in the Sumner surf. Total fire bans could be in place across much of the top of the
Total fire bans could be in place across much of the top of the
A large scrub fire near Waipara, in
Farmers in
Temperatures soared into the 30s yesterday around
In
The MetService says periods of similar warm weather are expected during the next few months.
The National Rural Fire Authority's
People would need to be on their guard against fires this summer, he said.
"It could be a busy season. At the moment, we expect restrictions to be right over
"You look up on the Port Hills now and just in the last few days they've started turning brown.
"The fire danger is tracking very similar to 2003-04. We had quite a number of major fires during that period --
MetService spokesman Bob McDavitt said the hottest and driest weather this summer would be in inland South Island areas, including the Mackenzie Country and
In
Federated Farmers president Charlie Pedersen said last night several rural areas were significantly drier than normal for early summer. "It seems almost unthinkable that a drought could kick off this early."
Pedersen said greater accuracy in long-term forecasts meant farmers could take steps such as destocking to get through a long dry spell.
NZ Events, Rain Or Shine!
Planning for the weather has never been as easy now that visitors to the MetService website can view the best events their region has to offer with a live feed from NZLive.com.
Whether it’s music, performance, exhibitions, festivals or sport; anyone from Kaitaia to Invercargill can now plan their weekend and beyond while looking up the local weather on metservice.com.
‘What’s On’ is a new feature on each of the 42 regional weather pages, listing the major events happening in the next three weeks.
NZLive.com is produced by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage to encourage more people to participate in cultural and sporting events and activities around
The website’s manager, Jackie Hay, says ‘What’s on’ is a win-win for users and for cultural organisations who list their events on NZLive.com. “By working with the MetService we’re making it easy for people to find out about major events around the country while they check out the weather.”
Nicola Burroughs, Consumer Market Development Manager at MetService agrees. “People visit metservice.com to plan their day. ‘What’s On’ is a great additional service that will help them organise even more activities – indoors or outdoors, rain or shine.”
Metservice.com is in the top 20 websites in
MetService extends forecast to Antarctic
11:08AM Friday December 14, 2007
The MS Explorer listing in Antarctic waters. Photo / Associated Press
The recent sinking of a cruise ship in Antarctic waters has prompted MetService to extend regular forecasts to the Antarctic ice edge.
MetService meteorologists will now issue regular marine weather forecasts and warnings for the sub-Antarctic.
Chief of national weather services Rod Stainer said the forecasts extended their coverage across the open seas of the Southern Ocean between
"They will help the increasing number of vessels that are now visiting this area to avoid the worst of the weather," he said.
Last month the MS Explorer, an adventure travel ship on a 19-day trip around
They waited more than three hours in unusually calm, icy waters, until they were rescued by a Norwegian cruise ship.
The sinking highlights the potential dangers in a boom in adventure tourism, Mr Stainer said.
"It is timely that we are extending our forecasts to cover these frigid waters."
Maritime
"Both the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic can be harsh and unforgiving environments, and any information which helps masters in their decision-making and improves safety is welcomed by Maritime New Zealand," he said.- NZPA
Christmas comes early as reindeer fly through the sky
on 14th December 2007
There's still a week and a half to go before Santa starts his rounds.
But, look up in the sky and you might just get a reminder that the reindeer are on their way.
Oh deer: Reindeer shaped cloud gallops across the sky
This cloud in the shape of Dancer, Prancer and co was spotted by amateur photographer Alan Blacklock on the
"It was Sunday afternoon and my attention was drawn to a cloud in the sky," said Mr Blacklock "The shape started to look like a moose at the front end and a springbok at the rear. "As time passed it became the shape you see and because it is nearly Christmas it wasn't a great leap of the imagination to see a reindeer. "I was in the right place at the right time. It was a fluke, just one of those things."
The cloud was formed by thin, wispy cirrus clouds more than 20,000ft up in the atmosphere. These clouds are often the harbinger of changing weather.
Meteorologist Ross Marsden said that cirrus formations regularly form into tufts, which are nicknamed "mare's tails".
He added: "Cirrus clouds often form themselves into unusual patterns but this one is certainly relevant as Christmas approaches."
Britons hoping to spot something similarly seasonal in the sky should have plenty of opportunity, with today and tomorrow both forecast to be dry and cloudy.
Bali Climate Change Breakthrough Lauded At UN
The President of the General Assembly today welcomed this weekend's outcome at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in
Srgjan Kerim "commends the spirit of compromise and cooperation shown by all parties during the discussions in
After the two-week Bali negotiations were extended for an extra day, delegates reached agreement on Saturday on both the agenda for the negotiations and a 2009 deadline for completing them so that a successor pact to the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions can enter into effect in 2013.
Under the so-called
Thanking the Indonesian Government for its leadership during the process and for hosting the landmark event, Mr. Kerim said that he "believes that advancing further on this agreement in the forthcoming negotiations is of crucial importance."
He intends to convene a high-level Assembly meeting - bringing together Member States, the private sector and civil society - on 11-12 February next year to bolster support for addressing climate change in partnership with the UN.
Four major UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meetings to implement the
TRANSIT
Issued at 12:40pm 21-Dec-2007
With the holiday traffic peaking over the next few weeks, you can now better plan your journey. Check out the new Transit traffic section and the day's weather on metservice.com.
The live cameras, which are updated every minute, are the newest addition to the site. The section features 16 cameras in
Senior Market Manager at MetService, Craig Delany says, "Visitor numbers to metservice.com peak in the early afternoon, so the traffic section is ideal for people heading home from work - and it's real time."
Transit Project Manager Deidre Hills says this is an exciting opportunity to keep travellers better informed.
"Transit is planning to install more cameras in the near future to improve traveller information services," says Miss Hills.
Rain eases drought, but cherry growers not happy
Posted at 6:56pm on 20 Dec 2007
More than 100mm of rain has fallen in some areas of Marlborough and Nelson and many parts of the country have received at least 30mm. That means green and growing pastures, and enough feed for the winter larder.
But not everyone in the region is happy about the wet weather. Cherry growers are facing losses at the end of the harvest season, as rain spoils the fruit.
Agricultural climatologist Alan Porteous says the current La Nina weather pattern could mean a return of very dry conditions for some farmers in the New Year. Mr Porteous says dry areas include inland Otago, South Canterbury, the eastern
Copyright © 2007 Radio
Rain brings short-term bliss
By KATHY WEBB - The Dominion Post | Thursday, 20 December 2007
CRAIG SIMCOX/Dominion Post
FINALLY:
Two days' rain has brought temporary relief to the driest areas of the
Farmers - in a more optimistic mood after between 30 millimetres and 60 millimetres of rain fell on parched pastures - paid $5 more for a head for Wairarapa lambs yesterday.
However, soils are still short of water and likely to remain so for the rest of summer.
Hawke's Bay farmers and pipfruit, grape and vegetable growers were pleased with the 50mm of rain the region got on Tuesday night and yesterday.
The chairman of the Hawke's Bay Drought Committee,
Once the rain stopped, farmers would be shutting up pastures to grow winter feed, which had all been used up, he said.
Wairarapa farmer and farm adviser Phil Guscott said the rain was more of a morale booster than a saviour.
"To say we have had a tough year is really a big understatement. At least the rain finally, though brief, will buoy a few spirits."
Crop growth would get a boost, helping with animal feed.
MetService spokesman Bob McDavitt said soils would probably lose most of the benefit of the rain through evaporation during the next five days, "but while it was running, the grass was drinking".
Further periods of rain bringing 30 to 50mm at a time could be expected every week or 10 days for the rest of the summer. That would keep grass growing in the lower
The outlook was not so good for Central Otago,
Ted Taylor, environmental manager for Greater Wellington regional council, said "things were getting pretty desperate" in Wairarapa till the rain arrived on Tuesday.
"Water levels were what you would expect at the end of the summer.
"Ground water is minimal and rainfall this year has been only about two-thirds of the normal average."
Wairarapa was facing possibly its driest year since records began in 1964. Agriculture and Forestry Minister Jim Anderton urged farmers to plan for a potentially serious drought.
Climate change raising insurance premiums
Collapsed roofs, smashed windscreens, and sodden carpets are just a few of the things insurers fork out money for after a storm.
The more they pay out, the more we pay them in premiums. The insurer Suncorp Metway yesterday announced that three separate extreme weather events since July had cost the company between $230 and $260 million.
Suncorp's chief executive is John Mulcahy.
"In July we saw some storms in
"When you add those two events to the
Worsening climate
Dr Penny Whetton from the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research says the weather is only expected to get worse as greenhouse gas emissions rise.
"As the atmosphere warms up and can hold more moisture, heavy downfalls, when they occur, have the likelihood of being more intense, so that increases the risk of flash flooding events," she said.
It is thought global warming may also ramp up the intensity of tropical cyclones and hail storms.
Dr Whetton says it is difficult to accurately predict the intensity of future storms.
"The main way that we can predict the future changes in climate due to the enhanced greenhouse effect are the results that come from our global climate models," she said.
"But they produce information which is fairly broadscale, like hundreds of kilometres between the points where we have information, and severe weather can be much more local than that.
"So, we actually have to use more indirect techniques to interpret what the climate models are saying to be able to say something about extreme weather events."
Insurance companies are running their own set of figures, but just how much extreme weather events will push up the premiums is unclear, even to the insurers.
A bee-utiful weekend ahead
The Dominion Post | Saturday, 22 December 2007
ROBERT KITCHIN/Dominion Post
WHAT'S THE BUZZ? The bloom of NZ's native Christmas tree attracts the humble bumble bee to
The crimson bloom of
The pohutukawa has burst into blossom around the city just in time to brighten up the festive season.
But what's the buzz on the weather for the holiday?
The forecast leading up to Christmas Day will see fine and settled weather over the main centres.
"It's going to be a beautiful weekend," MetService spokesman Bob McDavitt said.
On Christmas Day,
MetService predicts that Hawke's Bay will remain fine all day as it misses out on a front that will be moving across the country.
Eastern residents will bask in comfortable 25C temperatures.
Those in Palmerston North waking early to peep into their Santa stockings will have rain in the morning, which should clear in the afternoon. A high of 21C is expected.
The temperature will hover around 20C.
Mr McDavitt said the month started off quite dry but last week's 40millimetres of rain topped up the gauges.
Mercury Rising 2007 Concert Cancellation
It has been a trying two weeks for the organisers of Mercury Rising 07. The prevailing easterly conditions over the Coromandel have bought higher than average rainfall to the region. More rain is predicted over the coming week. The impact of this weather has meant all work scheduled to apply site infrastructure since last Tuesday December 18 has not been completed.
A decision was made after a site inspection this afternoon to cancel the New Years event for 2007. The chance of essential works not being completed before access is required is greater than the chance of the necessary access being completed in time for the event.
Ticket refunds will be available from point of purchase. If the point of purchase is closed over the next few days the refunds will be available immediately upon reopening after the break.
Summer hail storm not unseasonable
26 December 2007
MetService says a hail storm which hit the
Police are warning motorists driving in the area to take care in the icy conditions, particularly around the
Forecaster Ian Miller says hailstones between eight and 10 millimetres in diameter fell and several southerly changes can be expected in the next few days. He says the
There has been only one report of minor damage to guttering as a result of the storm. The temperature has dropped to around nine degrees in the
Making a Boxing Day splash
Okareka's Danny Smith hits the water at Tikitapu.
Picture: Stephen Parker
27.12.2007 Daily Post , Rotorua By JILL NICHOLAS
A sudden torrential downpour at Tikitapu (
And he was moved to admit it was warmer in the water than out of it.
The picture of climate change
Thursday, December 27, 2007
As the leaders of the G8 summit in Heiligendamm in Germany hammered the final communiqu on climate change, half a world away, in the small Pacific island country of Tuvalu, Sialafaga Talua, a born and bred islander pondered her shaky future on the islands, as she has always done again and again.
Salafaga Talua has a difficult decision on her hands, to either pack her bags and leave
Her trepidation is real, and is shared by most of the 10000 Tuvaluans who still reside on the
Tuvaluans, who are worried about the future, have been leaving their island for other Pacific states like
In the last few years press headlines in different parts of the world have highlighted
This small island nation in the South Pacific Ocean, area 26 SQ metres and population 10000 people has become the living proof of the consequences of global warming and scientific predictions say Tuvalu is likely to completely disappear under water in less than 50 years.
Taula Kapea, the scientific officer and acting Director of the Meteorological Department in
"The people are scared and worried about the harsh weather conditions. Such things have never happened before", he said. The result of this is that some people are now leaving
As for himself, his commitment is with
When I put the same question to Salafaga Laula who is a radio journalist for Radio
In the same vein, she expresses her fear of an uncertain future of the island and expresses a strong desire to create a global awareness of the predicament her country is in and the consequences of global warming. She tells me of plans by an NGO called Overview, run by Shuuichi Endou, to plublish a book where photos of all the 10000 Tuvuluans will be published alongside interviews laying out the people's concerns and opinions about Climate Change.
In the past,
Lalua is convinced that climate change is happening now and that the signs are for everyone to see. Her recollection of weather patterns from previous years is sharp.
Several years ago, she says, high tides would only flood small parts of the islands in February and March. In recent years, she says, tides have been hitting the islands beyond March and April and well into May as was the case this year. She says the famous king tide which floods the airstrip, or the airport used to happen only for a brief period in the year.
Flooding now lasts much longer, she says. Tourists, particularly film crews flock into the country this time of the year to take photos.
Back to the G8 Summit's Leaders final communiqu on climate change, described on the G8 website as "A Breakthrough In Climate Change Leading industrialised nations agree to at least half global CO2 emissions by 2050.".
While this may be a major political step, it is cold comfort to islanders like Tuvaluans who are witnessing freak weather conditions and some of whom are in the process of abandoning their homes, culture, tradition and simple island life to go and settle in bigger societies.
It seems Tuvaluans are now paying the price.
Havoc for holidaymakers
The Timaru Herald | Friday, 28 December 2007
JOHN BISSET/Timaru Herald
PATCHY WEATHER: Cooking dinner yesterday afternoon at the Selwyn Motor Camp, while trying to avoid spots of rain, were
Holidaymakers in
Four Peaks and Mt Peel even received a dusting of snow, and so far this month, Hughie has dropped 45.5mm of rain on Timaru -- and more is likely. The pattern of fine days followed by squally southerly changes is set to repeat, but the MetService says things should start to improve early in the new year. A check through the record books shows that rain at this time of the year is far from uncommon, despite our avowed memories of long, hot, December days.
Far North flooding led weather woes in 2007
5:00AM Friday December 28, 2007 By Julie Fitzgerald
Kaeo in the Far North suffered a double-whammy: flooding in March and again in July. Photo / Greg Bowker
The main features of the year's weather, as recorded in MetService weather ambassador Bob McDavitt's diary:
* December 06: Cold. The national average for December 2006 was 13.7C - beaten only by the 13.4C of December 2004, and matching the cold summer start to 1946.
* January 07: Dull. Sunny Nelson recorded its lowest January sunshine on record. The month's highest temperature was 33.5C in Napier and Hastings.
* February: Dry in most areas. The exception was the Far North which was hit by a deluge which dumped 172mm on Kaikohe between February 5 and 7, stranding 500 people.
* March: Unsettled. Snow fell near
Northland hit by 36 hours of extreme rainfall. The
Heavy rain also fell in
* April: Generally dry and anticyclonic.
* May: Warmest on record in both
* June: Two polar outbreaks heralded the start of winter. Power lines in Southland were toppled by the combined effects of snow and wind.
The second blast cut off
* July: The most damaging weather of the year, with Northland's flooding early in the month and Southland's at the end of the month.
* August: Relatively quiet by winter standards.
* September: Snowfalls on September 4 closed schools on the Canterbury Plains, but helped top up Otago and
* October: Windy and wild, particularly in central parts of the country. The worst of the winds occurred on October 23, causing damage and power cuts in Southland. Roofs were lifted in
The next day a freak wind gust in
* November: Lazy anticyclones produced extended dry periods over eastern and central districts.
It was not until June that the region's "drought of the century" finally broke. Direct losses to livestock farmers caused by parched conditions in the preceding 10 months have been estimated at around $300 million.
* December: A month of contrasts, with the West Coast receiving more than a metre of rain in one week, while eastern and central parts remained parched.
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