Rain falls as clean up continues

Aug 1, 2008 One News

The storm that's lashed much of New Zealand is easing though heavy rain is still falling in parts of the North and South Islands.

Marlborough and Canterbury were among the hardest hit by flooding but most of the people who had to be evacuated have been able to return to their homes.

There's some fresh surface flooding in parts of Otago though emergency services report no major problems so far.

The West Coast is in clean-up mode after winds of up to 150 kilometres ripped through the area, damaging property, lifting trees and cutting power.

And a number of roads throughout Waikato also remain closed. Flooding, land slips and fallen trees have blocked access to a number of smaller communities. Te Aroha was hit with a power outage, 12 properties lost their roofs and three families were evacuated.

Some Horowhenua residents are being told it could be several days before their power is back on. (Abridged)

Clouds? shoot at sight!

Saturday August 2 Sunday Express

A Chinese farmer with an anti-aircraft gun

China is trying to modify the weather to ensure a rain-free Games

A few hundred kilometres away from the roofless, eye-popping steel lattice of the Bird Nest, farmers are blasting away 37mm anti-aircraft guns — not at aircrafts — but at passing clouds.

They are all part of the plans of Beijing's Weather Modification Office (WMO)— to prevent rain from playing spoilsport during the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing.

First, the office will track the region's weather via satellites, planes, radar, and an IBM p575 supercomputer. The p575, incidentally, is one of the world's fastest computers and can execute 9.8 trillion floating point operations per second. It models an area of 44,000 square kilometers accurately enough to generate hourly forecasts for each kilometre.

Then their aircraft and a warren of artillery and rocket-launch sites around Beijing will shoot and spray silver iodide and dry ice into incoming clouds that are still far enough that their rain can be flushed out before they reach the stadium.

And for those 'rogue clouds' that survive the bombardment and manage to go all the way? Those clouds will be seeded with special coolants made from liquid nitrogen to shrink their droplets so that at least the small ones have no chance of hitting the ground.

China's weather modification is the world's largest— it has 30 aircraft and 37,000 peasant farmers — who are on call to blast away at clouds with 7,113 anti-aircraft guns and 4,991 rocket launchers.

Once clouds are seeded with silver iodide, moisture in clouds collects around the chemical particles until it is heavy enough to fall.

According to China's State news agency, Xinhua, between 2000 to 2005, China forced clouds to dump 275 billion cubic yards of water. That's enough rain to fill the country's second-largest river, the Yellow River, two times over. One silver iodide shell costs up to 88 Yuan ($12.75), one rocket is priced at 2,000 Yuan ($290), and one aircraft trip costs much more. About 100 shells or four rockets are used in each single action, according to experts.

(I think that also seeded clouds over Beijing during the games to help flush out the pollution—Editor)

Saturday August 02, 2008

By Juliet Rowan NZ Herald/ Newstalk ZB

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.

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.

Last year, insurance companies paid out about $95m in claims for weather damage plus $60m for damage caused by the Gisborne earthquake.

"This rain will be falling on already sodden ground, so further flooding and slips are likely, and rivers and streams will swell quickly," said MetService spokesman Bob McDavitt.

Mr McDavitt said the storms of the last 10 days had made July much wetter than normal, particularly in the north and east of the North Island. Some areas had received almost twice as much rain as usual. In Auckland, rain gauges showed a 60 per cent increase on an average July. Niwa figures show areas along the east coast from Northland to Whakatane received up to two-thirds more rain than normal. The heaviest rain was in Paeroa, which had nearly three times the average - 416mm for the month.  (Abridged)

Sunday August 03, 2008 Herald on Sunday/ 3 News

A house in Devon Street in the Wellington suburb of Aro Valley has been evacuated after a slip eroded its foundations.  The step narrow street runs from Kelburn down to Aro Valley and is a well known student flatting area. Devon Street is closed to traffic while engineers investigate the slip. The house has exposed piles in one corner.

There are also slips on Crawford Road in Kilbirnie, Onslow Road and Salamanca Road.

Meanwhile Environment Waikato said its emergency response team was on heightened alert after heavy overnight rain on Lake Taupo and the Upper Waipa River catchment. This morning, Lake Taupo was only 11 centimetres below its maximum storage level of 357.25m, meaning a greater likelihood of extra water needing to come down river from the upper Waikato"s hydro electricity storage system.

At least six homes in Auckland's North Shore were at risk from slips, two of them under immediate threat, with evacuated residents unsure when they would be able to return.

Weather experts warned the latest deluge could cause further headaches for properties suffering from landslides around the country. (Abridged)

3 News

Fri, 8 Aug 2008   Otago Daily Times

Motorists drive cautiously up Three Mile Hill in Dunedin during a snow flurry this afternoon. Photo by Gerard O'Brien.

Sleet, showers and strong south-westerlies have hit Dunedin, replacing the blue skies of yesterday.  Snow has settled down to 200 metres in some places and forecasters believe it will reach sea level at times.  (Abridged)

Southern chill moves north

Aug 9, 2008 10:55 AM

The chill which has left the South Island shivering on Saturday morning is moving North, with snow possible on the hills of Wellington. It was just two degrees in Christchurch on Saturday morning, with snow in parts of the city.

Forecaster Andy Downs says the cold southerly flow is currently pushing its way north, with snow already on the Rimutakas. State Highway Two has been closed along the length of the Rimutaka Hill Road. He says the higher hill suburbs of Wellington could be whitened later Saturday afternoon or evening.  (Abridged)

Snow blankets suburbs

Ian Steward - The Press | Monday, 11 August 2008

FROLICS: Simon Bullock, left, pulls Daisy York, four, on the Summit Road on Saturday.

Christchurch's wintry weather continued over the weekend with snow falling in city suburbs and blanketing parts of Cashmere and the Port Hills.

Most of the Port Hills' Summit Road was closed and roads on Banks Peninsula were also affected, with several covered in ice and hail or affected by slips after heavy rainfall.

The front hit on Friday night, buffeting the city with icy southerly winds, hail showers, and snow. (Abridged)

By Debbie Porteous on Mon, 11 Aug 2008  Otago Daily Times

A police officer takes notes after a 4WD slid on black ice and rolled on to a parked car in Heriot Row, central Dunedin about 10am yesterday. The 4WD occupants were not hurt. Photo by Peter McIntosh.

Weather forecasters and emergency service workers are warning Dunedin residents to brace themselves for more ice on the way to work this morning after a heavy frost overnight resulted in several crashes yesterday.

The MetService issued a special weather advisory yesterday warning that temperatures were expected to plummet again last night, with icy conditions across the region this morning and snow on the way for Central Otago tonight or tomorrow morning.

MetService forecaster Andy Downs said the frosts were a result of a ridge of high pressure that spread over New Zealand yesterday, producing clear skies and light winds in many areas.  (Abridged)

Wednesday August 13, 2008

By Alanah May Eriksen and Juliet Rowan, NZ  Herald

Harlene Wharekawa examines what's left of her garage, which ended up in the next door neighbour's property. Photo / Alan Gibson

A blast of wind - initially thought to be a mini-tornado - ripped through Mt Maunganui yesterday, tearing the roof off a double garage and shearing tiles off houses along several streets. It was the second time in less than two weeks that properties in the Mount suburb of Arataki had been damaged by severe winds. In the last episode, on July 30, a mini-tornado ripped the roofs off several houses, tore through fences and pulled trees out of the ground.

But the Tauranga Fire Service said yesterday's damage appeared to be the result of a strong downdraft because it did not cause the kind of devastation seen from tornadoes in the area in the past.  "This was more like a big wind dump," senior station officer Mark Keller said. "It wasn't tornado damage." The MetService also said the damage was probably the result of a "downburst", which was a powerful gust of wind generated by a thunderstorm cloud.  (Abridged)

Waikato River still rising but should stay short of homes

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 3:39p.m.  3 News and NZPA

The Waikato river is expected to rise to 16m in the city as a result of the controlled release of water from Lake Karapiro, in turn releasing pressure on Lake Taupo which is at capacity, Waikato Civil Defence spokesman Paul Blewman said.

Evacuation would not be considered unless the river reached 16.5m. At 16.1m, some surface road flooding was possible.  Riverside walkways had already been submerged.  (Abridged)

Caught in a cycle of wet weekends

By BRITTON BROUN - The Dominion Post | Friday, 15 August 2008

ROSS GIBLIN/The Dominion Post

GROUNDBOG DAY: Island Bay soccer players Connor Weston, 7, and Khallum Vithal, 8, are sick of rainouts.

Another weekend, another wintry blast. MetService has confirmed what most of us know - it has poured down every Saturday for the past seven weeks.

Spokesman Bob McDavitt said a week-long weather cycle had locked in at weekends, with rain on every Saturday since June 21. "Seven-day cycles are common in winter time, it takes that long for one weather system to clear as another comes in, but unfortunately this one has set in so that it arrives every Saturday."  (Abridged)

Snow, ice close roads Qtown and Central freezing

By DEBBIE JAMIESON and SUE FEA in Queenstown - The Southland Times | Saturday, 16 August 2008

SUE FEA - SNOW ANTICS: Jude Reeve, 5, (left), and his sister Tia, 3, putting their toy 4WD into action in their Arthur's Point garden, which was laden with snow yesterday.

Frozen snow and treacherous road conditions kept much of the Wakatipu closed yesterday morning.

Sheet ice prevented flights from landing at Queenstown Airport until 11am.  Snow blanketed the basin and a -5.6degC frost on top of 4cm of fresh snow left much of central Queenstown trapped by the big freeze.

All schools in Queenstown and Arrowtown were closed and Air New Zealand Queenstown Airport manager David Whitaker said sheet ice on the runway did not begin to thaw until the sun appeared late morning.

Extreme weather hits Wellington and Tasman District

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 5:54p.m. 3 news

Around 600 homes and business in the Tasman District are without power tonight after a huge dump of snow brought down powerlines.

It was not just the top of the South Island punished by 24 hours of extreme weather.

Tasman Network maintains the powerlines in the Tasman District and says it could take 2 or 3 days to restore power to remote areas.

Overnight in Wellington the weather system created different but also dramatic scenes. Thunder, lightning and heavy rain lashed the capital punctuating an exciting 24 hours for the Met Service. (Abridged)

12:39PM Saturday August 16, 2008, NZ Herald

Clearing the snow on SH47 into National Park yesterday. Photo / Tony Gavigan

Further "significant" falls of snow, plus rain downpours for already drenched areas of the North Island, are being forecast by MetService today. Forecasters said snow was easing in Westland, Buller and Nelson but more was likely about Fiordland, inland Southland and Otago, and the central plateau.  (Abridged)

Arthur's Pass closed due to snow

Aug 15, 2008 1:36 PM   One News

Heavy snow had brought down a massive snow slide onto the main road just south of Arthur's Pass.  The massive pile of snow careered down a gully completely covering State Highway 73 between Porter's Pass and Auther's Pass.

An avalanche warning had been issued for alpine areas of the South Island after one of the biggest dumps of snow in decades.
Thick heavy snowfall had like a white blanket covered Arthur's Pass village and people there say it's the most snow they have ever seen.

Vehicles were not just covered with snow - Some had been completely buried.  (Abridged)

Desert Rd closes again

Aug 17, 2008 9:20 AM   One News

"We're not really expecting a huge dump overnight. It's really just going to come through in showers so they may be able to keep it open," said Mark Pascoe, MetService forecaster. (Abridged)

Climbers Miraculous Survival

Ellen Connolly Courier Mail, Brisbane

August 17, 2008 12:00am

SIX Sydney climbers have described their miraculous survival in the New Zealand Alps as avalanches crashed around them and heavy snowfalls buried their tent.

The two women and four men, aged 27 to 55, spent nine days on Mt Cook battling blizzards, deep crevasses, hypothermia and exhaustion.

They were found yesterday morning following an extensive three-day search-and-rescue mission by New Zealand authorities.

Rescuers said the trekkers were "extremely lucky" to have survived the harsh conditions. (Abridged)

Taieri dairy farmer David Wilson treads through mud as he readies his cows for milking yesterday. Photo by Peter McIntosh.

Otago dairy farmers are working 18 to 20 hours a day to stop dairy cows and calves from falling victim to what some are calling "a silent killer" - the prolonged and extremely bitterly cold and wet end to winter.

(Abridged)

Tuesday August 19, 2008  NZPA

Skifield operators at Turoa on Mt Ruapehu are welcoming this season's record dumps of snow. File photo / Alan Gibson

Mt Ruapehu is claiming the biggest snow base ever recorded for a New Zealand skifield with over 4.5m of snow on the ground.

Ruapehu Alpine Lifts, operator of Mt Ruapehu ski area, was celebrating what it called a major milestone today.

The snow measuring stake at Turoa previously only stood at 380cm so had to be extended to measure today's 455cm snow base.

The Whakapapa side of the mountain also had 350cm of snow, the biggest since 1995. Mt Hutt reported a 267cm snow base.

Big Snow dump hits

By GREER McDONALD - The Dominion Post/The Press Tues, 19 August 2008

SNOWED UNDER: Staff at Mt Ruapehu shovel off some of the more than two metres of snow that had gathered on roofs.

CHILLY WORK: The Press reporter Giles Brown battles wild conditions on Bossu Road in Canterbury's Banks Peninsula.

Three unusual weather events have combined to create a "polar outbreak" bringing some of New Zealand's heaviest snow in years.

MetService spokesman Bob McDavitt said snowfalls had been heavy for three reasons:

The Tasman Sea had become a "breeding ground" for low-pressure systems since mid July.

The lows had often moved slowly, allowing more time for snow or rain to fall.

Cold air from the Southern Ocean had been drawn north and then over New Zealand, tipping the balance toward snow and away from rain.

COLD CALL: Phone boxes show the snow levels in Arthur's Pass Village in the Southern Alps

Snow fell in areas of the Wellington region and on the Desert Road last night, while the South Island continues to shiver in the cold snap.

Meanwhile residents in the hilly suburbs of Christchurch were struggling to get to work this morning after snow overnight left some streets accessible by four-wheel-drive only.

At 9am it was snowing steadily in central Christchurch and children at Cashmere Primary School in the hill suburb were told to stay at home for the day because of the snow.

Many roads around Banks Peninsula and Port Hills had been closed by snow and ice.

The MetService said that since last Thursday there had been around 800mm of fresh snow on the central North Island mountains and a metre or more on the western slopes of the Southern Alps from Mount Cook northwards.

Mt Ruapehu in the Central Plateau received the biggest snowfall in more than 20 years, staff said.  They had to shovel off more than two metres of snow that had gathered on service building roofs, threatening to collapse them.  The dump was so heavy, it buried the snow stake used to measure snowfall.

Cold snap brings snow

     KAY BLUNDELL - The Dominion Post with Manawatu Standard, Tues 19 AUG 2008

Snow fell in the seaside town of Paekakariki, north of Wellington, overnight thanks to a southerly cold snap that is expected to intensify. Kapiti mayor Jenny Rowan said she was amazed to see the paddocks of her Paekakariki lifestyle block covered in drifts of white snow last night. A thunderstorm in Cook Strait drifted northwards along the Kapiti Coast bringing snow to low levels.

SNOW JOB: For the first time in his life, Zimbabwean Spencer Stuart worked in snow this morning. Mr Stuart is one of a team from Wellington called in by United Group to help repair power lines and poles damaged near Nelson.

Snow also fell in the Wairarapa town of Featherston. Further north, up to 15cm of snow fell on the Desert Rd over night, and another 3-5cm was forecast for this morning. The streets of Dannevirke were also covered with snow this morning. Ice and snow also made roads slippery in the Shannon area. (Abridged)

A wintry blaze yesterday brought snow to both ends of the Wairarapa valley.

Farms on Mount Bruce and some parts of the Rimutaka Hill were blanketed in the white stuff, in what was just another day in an unusually cold August.  Carterton resident Sharon Aston, who has commuted to Trentham for more than two years, yesterday noted a "sprinkling" of snow on the hill.

However, Metservice spokesman Bob McDavitt said that on the wild weather podium, Wairarapa was up for no medals.  He said it seemed July and August in Wairarapa had "traded weather". Temperatures in Masterton had this month averaged at 7.2C, below August's normal mean of 8.4C, while last month's 8C average was above its annual mean of 7.4C. "You are having your (Abridged)

Daniel Boerman enjoys Mt Bruce in the snow. Photo: Lynda Feringa

Twister terror: 60 years since NZ's deadliest tornado

By CLIO FRANCIS - Stuff.co.nz | Monday, 25 August 2008

Supplied/Hamilton City Libraries

HORROR SCENE: It is 60 years since New Zealand's deadliest recorded tornado hit Frankton; killing three people and injuring 80.

Power poles snapped like carrots and homes were reduced to rubble in the 10 minutes it took a devastating tornado to sweep its way through the Hamilton suburb of Frankton on August 25, 1948.

It is 60 years since New Zealand's deadliest recorded tornado hit Frankton; killing three people, injuring 80 and causing in excess of £1 million worth of damage (over $63 million in today’s money).

Reports from the time tell of how the tornado picked up one house and turned it around, before depositing it across the street. Incredibly the occupants, a woman and her two children, escaped from the ordeal unharmed.

The Frankton tornado was rated an F2 on the Fujita scale, a standard six point scale used for measuring the intensity of a tornado or severe winds. According to NIWA an F2 rating indicates wind speeds of between about 180–250 kmh.  (Abridged)

Coastal towns bear brunt of deluge

Railway lines closed, houses evacuated

Tuesday, 26 August 2008 - Stuff.co.nz, The Press, Marlborough Express, NZPA

JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/The Press

DELUGE: Flooding at Camshorn vineyard, north of Amberley.

Kaikoura, Seddon, Blenheim and Picton are taking a pounding from a rain front that has cut roads and railway lines and caused widespread surface flooding along the east coast of the South Island.

Kaikoura and Hanmer Springs have been isolated by slips caused by heavy rain on already sodden ground in areas flooded three weeks ago, while Cheviot looks likely to be without water for days after the main pipe to the town was cut during the storm.

Kaikoura's Jimmy Armers Beach, which was once a whaling station, has been pelted by rain so hard the sand has receded exposing historic whale bones.

In Picton the Alexander Holiday Park was evacuated last night as a precaution and residents were given temporary accommodation.

A massive slip has closed the Weld Pass on SH1 between Blenheim and Seddon at about 9am and contractors are working to try and clear the road.

The main trunk railway line near Kaikoura has been shut again after a massive slip which blocked the line three weeks ago was reactivated by the heavy rain.

MetService had expected between 250mm and 300mm rain was forecast for the Kaikoura ranges and 120mm to 200mm between Banks Peninsula and Kaikoura today as a front stalled across the region.

In the North Island, the Petone overbridge, north of Wellington, was closed due to a major slip last night. Flooding on the Albany Highway forced residents to evacuate their homes yesterday and an assessment would be made today whether they could return.

Flood clean-up begins - again

The Press | Wednesday, 27 August 2008

STACY SQUIRES/The Press

A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT: Maintenance engineer David Coll inspects one of the many slips on State Highway 1, between Cheviot and Kaikoura.

A massive clean-up operation is under way this morning after two days of rain left a path of destruction in North Canterbury and along the east coast from Cheviot to Picton. SH1 between Cheviot and Picton has been closed by up to 30 slips and residents in towns along the coast face a big clean up after up to three months worth of rain fell in 24 hours and left widespread surface flooding.

Kaikoura is still isolated by slips and Cheviot is facing about a week without drinking water after a main pipe was washed out.

In North Canterbury the raging Eyre River claimed up to 100 dairy cows in North Canterbury early yesterday when a bridge approach was washed away. The cows, from Schouten Farms, were being bought in for milking over a concrete bridge across the Eyre River when the approach was washed away about 3.30am and the cows plunged into the swollen waters. (Abridged)

It's not hosing down - it must be Thursday

By NATHAN BEAUMONT - The Dominion Post | Thursday, 28 August 2008

KEVIN STENT/Sunday Star Times

WINTER OF DISCONTENT: In a rotten winter that has seen Wellington drenched in almost twice the average rainfall, statistics show residents can look to Thursdays for a reprieve.

Niwa statistics confirm the outlook for Thursdays is fine - or at least better, as it has proved to be the least likely day for rain.

The bad news for weekend warriors is that the day most likely to cop a soaking is Sunday, with Monday splashing not far behind.

It has rained in Wellington on 84 days this year - eight were Thursdays. Sundays (16 days) and Mondays (14) were the wettest.

Niwa climate researcher James Renwick turned to statistics in the hope of discovering why it had been such a damp winter.

"Honestly, there is no answer. It has just been one of those winters. We have been locked into a nasty weather cycle that we can't shake.

Last year 367mm of rain fell in Wellington during June, July and August. About 600mm has already fallen in the same period this year.

Soggy Saturdays - nine of them since the start of May - have also played havoc with sport, with rain forcing soccer, rugby and rugby league to shorten their seasons. (Abridged)

Thirty years ago, Wellington was so windy that pedestrians clung to ropes as they stood waiting to cross some central city streets for fear of being blown off footpaths. In the 1970s, on Willis and Taranaki Sts, the city’s engineering department strung ropes between poles when the wind gusted to gale force and the roads turned into wind tunnels.

Wellington’s mayor from 1974 to 1983, Sir Michael Fowler, recalls: ‘‘As soon as the wind reached a certain speed, they’d bang up the ropes to save people. People took their lives in their hands when they walked across some of those streets.’’

But when this year’s winter storms hit in July, Sir Michael, an architect, expected to be kept awake by howling winds. Instead, his Thorndon home was ‘‘eerily quiet’’, with Wellington protected from the fierce easterlies. ‘‘It was so quiet, it was almost ominous.’’

MAKING WAVES: Ferry Captain Bill Wood says Wellington isn’t as windy as it used to be. ‘‘In the stretch from the Outer Buoy to Sinclair Head to Karori Rock, we frequently encountered wind speeds of 90kmh-plus in the 1960s and 70s.’’

David Roberts, vice-commodore of the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club, has been sailing for a decade and moved to Wellington about 30 years ago. ‘‘I remember moving here and it was definitely foul walking to work. This year is a bit of an exception, but from the 1980s, the weather seems to have been more settled and less windy.’’

Wellington’s notorious northerlies and southerlies have given the city international acclaim as one of the world’s windiest places, joining the ranks of cities such as Chicago, Capetown and Perth. Howling gales and equinox winds have driven former citizens away. But is Wellington’s weather improving, or at least changing? Some long-time residents think so. Wind statistics back this up, too, showing Wellington isn’t as windy as it was even a decade ago.

Bob McDavitt, weather ambassador at the MetService, says Wellington winds have eased in the past 30 years because there’s been a drop in wind flow across the Tasman.

Mike Revell, a meteorologist with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, says: ‘‘The only long weather record using the same instrument is in Kelburn, which has shown a slight decrease in wind during the past 20 years.’’

For the past 35 years, Captain Bill Wood has been taking passengers and freight across the Cook Strait on the Arahura ferry and he’s lived in Wellington all that time. ‘‘Wellington is definitely not as windy as it used to be,’’ he says. ‘‘In the stretch from the Outer Buoy to Sinclair Head to Karori Rock, we frequently encountered wind speeds of 90kmh-plus in the 1960s and 70s. The anemometer used to go off the end of the scale.’’

When David Sole began as the Botanic Gardens’ manager five years ago, he was constantly battered by the wind. ‘‘It used to blow for months. Everyone finds that debilitating.’’ Now, when the wind comes, ‘‘it’s hard and fast’’, which is easier to live with and also better for the plants. When he first started the job, city gardeners struggled to keep deciduous trees in bloom, as the blossoms would constantly blow off. Now, visitors can wander around the gardens and see magnolias and rhododendrons blooming in August. The lessening winds are having an impact everywhere, from the Botanic Gardens, where deciduous trees are being planted in spots once deemed too windy, to sports fields, which are not drying as quickly.

Weather charts dating back to 1960 show that some years have been exceptionally windy. In October 1991, winds gusted to gale force, more than 95kmh, for a record 13 days. That year, according to Metservice readings from Wellington airport, was also the windiest on record – with an average wind speed of 30.2kmh. In the 1990s, the winds dropped and they now hover around 25kmh. This month, average wind speed at the airport has been lower than usual, at 21.7kmh.

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