FIRST HALF OF JUNE — NEWS CLIPS.

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AWARD SHOULD BE SHARED

By BRUCE FRASER in Te Anau The Southland Times 02 June 2008

BRUCE FRASER/ID 125629

TEAMWORK: Te Anau couple Wayne and Ann Carran, both of whom received a Queen's Service Medal for their services to conservation.

A Te Anau couple yesterday said the recognition they received in the Queen's Birthday Honours List should be shared.

Both Wayne and Ann Carran received a Queen's Service Medal for services to conservation, particularly to recognise their work in Fiordland looking after the Milford road and work to develop the Milford Road Avalance Programme for the past 20 years.

The couple became closely involved with avalanche safety following the 1983 death of roading supervisor "Pop" Andrew in an avalanche near the Homer Tunnel. The Carrans said the success of the avalanche programme was contingent upon a team of people.

A network of seven automatic weather stations has been developed with instruments and computer software developed and modified in house.They continue to use the increasingly detailed data from the high-altitude instruments combined with specialised MetService weather forecasts to refine predictions of when avalanches are imminent.

Then helicopter-borne bombing missions are used to release controlled avalanches. During the past 25 years, with substantial investment in time and development, the avalanche safety programme has earned international acceptance as world-class best practice.  Abridged

Weather puts a damper on fun

The Dominion Post | Tuesday, 03 June 2008

ROBERT KITCHIN/The Dominion Post

WINTER IS HERE: Ella Childs from Miramar (9), Kara Menson (5) and Sian Menson (9) from Mapuia, look out from the back of a ute in Breaker Bay as the rain dampens their fun.

Just in case you didn't know, it is now officially winter.

Another long weekend, another dose of lousy holiday weather, as more than 14 millimetres of rain fell in Wellington yesterday to mark the real end of a golden summer and autumn.

It was even wetter in Lower Hutt, which was drenched with more than 26mm.

MetService forecaster Bob Lake said the Wellington region experienced a little of everything for the long weekend, with plenty of rain and wind, a dose of warmth and some chilly temperatures.

"There was a bit of everything - a southerly and a northerly."

The Taupo region experienced showers throughout the weekend while Hawke's Bay remained fine till yesterday when it was doused in rain.

Persistent rain fell over much of the lower North Island, with heavy downpours particularly on Sunday evening.

Lower Hutt dropped to a chilly 2.4 degrees celsius on Saturday morning, the coolest in the region, and a high of 15C was recorded at Wellington airport on Sunday.

Kiwis should expect more of the same for the rest of winter, with "nothing exceptional" forecast, Mr Lake said.

"There will be a series of cold fronts through winter and, in general, winter will be pretty normal."

Yesterday's wild weather caused few problems on the roads but there was a heavy rain and fog warning for motorists on the Rimutaka Hill.

Enjoying the last of the summer wind

03.06.2008   By André Hueber Northern Advocate

Francoise Saparelli whizzes along Baylys Beach. Picture/Tania Webb

Bright sunshine had Queen's Birthday crowds flocking to the long Northland coastline yesterday for fishing or beach fun before winter starts to make an impact.

It was perfect weather for the Saparelli family to enjoy a day at Baylys Beach near Dargaville with their two land yachts.

Francois said the family's two "sand tigers" were faster than normal land yachts and could reach speeds of 80km/h.

"It's like sailing, but on land.

The westerlies are pretty gentle today - perfect for a cruise."

Francoise said: "I love having the wind in my hair, no noise, and nobody around. Out here you can be a free spirit."

Wave power is being tested for generating electricity

TV3 Thu, 05 Jun 2008 05:25p.m.

 Wave power is being tested in Wellington harbour as a way of generating electricity.

It is a small-scale project, enough to power two houses.  But within a decade, much larger commercial wave generators could be pumping power into the national grid.

It looks like a small buoy a yacht might sail around, but parked in the harbour just 75 metres from the NIWA office is the latest thinking on wave technology.

It is a device that could soon develop into a serious source of electricity supply.

“Its beginning to get some international recognition and people are beginning to recognise the value of the resource,” says John Huckerby, the Director of Power Projects Ltd.

It works when the wave creates an up-down movement of the float between these two pillars, that motion pushes a hydraulic piston which powers a small generator.

The idea is to have up to 100 of them in a wave farm producing power  Abridged

Heat and humidity, not air pollution

Posted to CNN: Friday June 6, 2008 10:04 PM

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -Heat and humidity rather than air quality will challenge athletes at the Beijing Olympics, says a New Zealand-based meteorologist working for the Canadian Olympic team.

Doug Charko monitored weather and air quality in Beijing last August to produce a model which anticipates conditions athletes may encounter during this year's games.

Charko, who was the meteorologist for sailing's Luna Rossa team at the last America's Cup, found heat, humidity and solar radiation in Beijing were regularly higher than limits specified by the International Amateur Athletics Federation for safe participation in sport.

His studies showed temperatures regularly exceeded 27 or 28 degrees Celsius (80 to 82 Fahrenheit) in August, with high humidity.

"If it exceeds 26, 27 degrees, by the international athletics federation handbook you cannot compete,'' he said.”And yet we saw that condition in Beijing everyday.''

"Our studies showed that air quality affected oxygen intake by about one or two percent whereas heat stress, as a result of heat and humidity, had an affect in the range of 5 to 10 percent,'' he said.

Session times had been changed so that the majority of events would take place in the morning and early evening to avoid the heat of the day, Charko said. (Abridged)

Coronet Peak overhaul unwrapped

By WILL HINE in Queenstown - The Southland Times | Saturday, 07 June 2008

WILL HINE/ID 125881

READY TO ROLL: Coronet Peak manager Hamish McCrostie was all smiles yesterday as he oversaw the final touches on the construction of the resort's new base building.

The Southern Lakes' most anticipated ski resort opening day in recent history is here. Coronet Peak ski resort today opens its terrain to the public after a $30 million summer overhaul that included a complete redevelopment of the base building and installation of 141 new snow guns. Abridged

Snow sparks panic

The Timaru Herald | Monday, 09 June 2008

SHOPPING FLURRY: Big, thick white flakes of snow fell on Saturday, prompting a rush to the supermarkets as people remembered the Big Snow two years ago and wanted to stock up in case the weather set in.

The threat of homes being blanketed under thick snow stampeded Timaru residents to the shops. Rhonda Markby reports.

But it was all for nothing. In spite of the white blanket upwards of 10cm deep in parts of Timaru, the snowfall proved short-lived, and produced few of the problems of the major dump on July 12, 2006.

In spite of that, some snow did land in the "right" areas -- the snowfields. Mt Hutt received 25-30cm, while Mt Dobson's and Ohau's websites were both reporting 10cm.

Abridged

Snow spreads to Canterbury as wintry blast hits   

Updated 4:01PM Saturday June 07, 2008

Horses stand in the snow by the Pleasant Point Highway 10km northeast of Timaru. Photo / Kathryn Hill

Heavy snow has been falling to sea level in Timaru for several hours and has now spread across inland Canterbury to Christchurch, according to The Radio Network's South Island weather analyst Richard Green.

But despite today's chilly conditions, last night was the warmest overnight low on record in Christchurch, said Mr Green.

"It dropped to only 15.7 degrees (overnight) thanks to the nor'wester," he said, adding that the average overnight low for Christchurch in June was 0.8 degrees.

The Radio Network's head weather analyst Philip Duncan says the South Island and lower North Island have been battered by very strong winds with gusts of more than 150 kilometres an hour recorded at Castle Point and Stewart Island.

"We're warning motorists in the North Island to take extreme care tonight and tomorrow morning," Mr Duncan said.

"Snow is expected on the Rimutaka Ranges and possibly the Napier Taupo Highway.  Heavy snow is also likely on the Desert Road and there's a good chance it may be need to be closed."

MetService said strong winds could lift insecure roofs and were likely to cause hazardous driving conditions, particularly for high sided vehicles, motorcycles and cars towing caravans.

It said the front would be followed by a wintry blast with very cold, showery southwesterlies along eastern coasts.

- NZPA, NEWSTALK ZB, abridged

Snow hits South Island

Saturday, 07 June 2008 Timaru herald

The Shaw family

WHITE ON TIME: The Shaw family in Timaru have some fun in the snow on Saturday afternoon.

WINTER'S HERE: Timaru got the snow predicted to hit the South Island this afternoon.

The Shaw family

WRAP UP WARM: Children in Timaru had plenty of opportunity to play in the snow on Saturday afternoon.

A southerly blast has brought snow to many areas of the South Island, trapping motorists and disrupting flights.
About 50 motorists were reported to have been stranded by snow at Porter's Pass in central Canterbury for several hours today. –NZPA

I'll have a cold one

The Dominion Post | Monday, 09 June 2008

CRAIG SIMCOX/The Dominion Post

FIRED UP: Winter woollies were in hot demand at the rugby test between the All Blacks and Ireland - though this brave Irish fan didn't appear to need them.

 A freezing southerly rampaged through Wellington half-an-hour before kickoff in Saturday night's game. In just three hours the temperature dropped eight degrees celsius, from 13C at 6pm to 5C at 9pm. By then, the wind chill made it feel as if it were minus 1C, MetService said.

After the match, several players said it was the coldest they had felt on a rugby field.  A post-match interview with Irish captain Brian O'Driscoll was cut short as he was so cold he could not stop shivering. Abridged

Black-ice warning across South Island

By CHARLIE GATES - The Press | Monday, 09 June 2008

John Kirk-Anderson

LAPPING IT UP: Emmanuel Nicklyn, 10, tastes snowflakes at Hilltop above Little River on Saturday.

Treacherous roads are predicted across the South Island for the next three days as falling temperatures turn melting snow and rain into black ice.  Police, the MetService and the Government's civil defence department have warned South Island motorists to expect dangerously icy roads this week.

MetService forecaster Ian Miller said the worst of the snow was over for the South Island but frosty conditions would continue for several days.  "It is going to be pretty icy and frosty in a lot of places on Monday night, Tuesday night and for most of the week. Wherever there is surface water or damp there is the danger of black ice because it will be well below freezing at night," he said.  Abridged

Hopes for lakes hinge on forecast rain

Friday June 13, 2008 By Grant Bradley   NZ Herald

Lake Tekapo may present a totally different picture if weather predictions are accurate. Photo / Grant Bradley

Power planners should know today if forecast heavy rain has helped replenish hydro lakes that are standing at less than half average levels.

A slow-moving front is forecast to dump up to 350mm of rain over 48 hours in critical hydro catchments from South Westland to the Aoraki-Mt Cook area.

In spite of the forecast, the $2.5 million television adverts promoting power saving will start on Sunday. Power companies are paying for them.

MetService severe weather forecaster Bob Lake said all computer modelling pointed to the forecast rain arriving this time. It would also be relatively warm rain that was unlikely to be locked up as snow.

Rain Effects hydrologist Dave Stewart said Lake Te Anau and Lake Manapouri, which feed the country's biggest hydro station, could start to fill by later today. The impact of the front on Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki, which store about 60 per cent of hydro capacity, would be apparent by Tuesday.  Abridged

Electricity use falls as consumers save

By PAUL GORMAN, The Press | Friday, 13 June 2008

STACY SQUIRES

CATCHMENTS RECHARGED: a nor'west arch over Christchurch yesterday signalled warm weather and heavy rain in the Main Divide.

Calls for Kiwis to save electricity appear to be working before expected heavy alpine rain and an industry-backed television campaign that starts on Sunday.

Weather forecasters believe that over the next few days, depleted South Island hydro lakes will get their best inflows for months.

MetService predicts up to 250mm of rain along the Main Divide from today until tomorrow night, with as much as 400mm on the western side of the Southern Alps.

Winter Power Group convener and Transpower chief executive Patrick Strange said there were signs Kiwis were already reducing power use, but it was difficult to measure the savings.  Abridged

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