Torrential downpour in Wellington, five-car crash

NZPA | Wednesday, 2 May 2007. http://www.stuff.co.nz/4045541a10.html

Wellington experienced half its normal monthly rainfall this morning, with the wet conditions leading to a number of crashes on the capital's roads.

Wellingtonians were in for a bad commute as storm water drains struggled to cope with an overnight deluge of rain.  There was a spate of accidents even after the rain abated.  

Though it rained steadily overnight from around midnight the deluge came between 5am and 6am.

Around 5.30am 10mm of rain fell in just four minutes.

"That is a quite torrential downpour," MetService forecaster Allister Gorman said.

Wellington typically gets 119mm of rain in the month of May. Between 5am and 6am this morning 28mm fell. And from midnight 57.6mm of rain fell in Kelburn, about half the normal amount for the month, and 51mm fell in Wellington.  The record for one day in Wellington in May is 105mm.

Mr Gorman said heavy rain was forecast but it had arrived earlier than expected.

The culprit was an active front across the lower North Island.

"For the most of the rest day we are probably just going to a few showers. We may have another burst of heavy rain tonight but it is too early to contemplate whether it will be quite as heavy again," he said.

Trina Saffiotti of Wellington City Council said ten manhole covers were dislodged by the rain.

The council had reports of flooding in many different parts of the city. There was a large slip in Wadestown near Cecil Rd and slips on Hutt Rd, Onslow Rd and Palliser Rd.

Sergeant Andy Dow of Wellington Police warned drivers on their way to work to watch following distances due to surface flooding.  Both Stagecoach, the bus operator, and Ontrack, the rail network operator, said services were running as normal.

Ontrack spokesman Kevin Ramshaw said there had been some small slips on the Johnsonville line and a small signal problem but "at the moment all is well".

A spokesman for Stagecoach said there was surface flooding in Kilbirnie near the bus terminal but the trolley buses were working. Some buses may have to make diversions to their routes.

 

100kmh tornado rips through worksite

03.05.2007  By DAVID DUNHAM

http://www.bayofplentytimes.co.nz/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3732408&thesection=localnews&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection=

A tornado ripped through a Western Bay building site at up to 100kmh yesterday, lifting a portaloo off the ground and sending workers rushing for cover from flying debris.

Timber, fence panels and steel mesh zipped through the air at the Papamoa Beach Gardens retirement complex at Te Okuroa Drive after the tornado made landfall at about 4pm.

With a diameter of about 10m and a wind speed of up to 100kmh, the tornado raged for about 20 seconds on the building site.

Human waste spilled out of the portaloo after it was carried for 20m and sent crashing into a fence before landing on its side on the ground. Project manager for the Belvedere Construction worksite, Sebastian Jonsson, said he was watching the tornado thinking it was "exciting stuff" until it made landfall and he made a dash for his site office.

"It was an incredible sight to see the toilet lifted off the ground and timber go through the air. Being in a tornado is not what you expect to happen when you go to work."

Remarkably, none of the eight workers, who Mr Jonsson said were "quite calm" during the tornado, were hurt and that he believed no buildings in the area were damaged.

The Fire Service also did not have any weather-related callouts.

However, the Belvedere Construction team - which has been on-site since last month building five retirement units - had to carry out a clean-up operation after the tornado.

Mr Jonsson called in extra staff to help and the site was back to normal within an hour.

MetService forecaster Ian Miller said a twister would have happened from having a northeasterly wind on the ground but a northwesterly above it.

Mr Miller said it was a minor tornado that most buildings would cope with.

"But for building sites with things moving around it is dangerous. You are probably better off inside."

The tornado happened shortly after a cluster of lightning bolts, which the MetService say at about 80,000 amps in strength was "not huge", shot across the sky.

 

Craighead students seeing green

The Timaru Herald | Thursday, 3 May 2007 http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/timaruherald/4046098a6571.html

Jess Parker/Timaru Herald

MOVIE-MAKERS: The Craighead team of Year 13 students Bridget Gilchrist, Fumi Kato and Tracy Jackson have been announced as one of six finalists in the 2007 Freemasons BIG Science Adventure school DVD competition.

Bridget Gilchrist, Tracy Jackson and Fumi Kato are seeing green – not with envy but with anticipation.

The Craighead students have been selected as one of six finalists in the 2007 Freemasons BIG Science Adventure school DVD competition which offers a trip to Greenland as the winning prize.

Administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand, the competition required students to make a five-minute DVD on climate and/or energy.

The girls' DVD named Timaru – Two Feet Under, was based on last year's big snow, how unpredicted it was and its effects on the area.

It featured snow footage by Brian High and interviews with Civil Defence personnel and local farmers.

Last week the girls were delighted to hear their DVD was going to be used by Civil Defence, the South Canterbury Museum and Metservice for educational purposes.

Yesterday, after finding it had been selected as a national finalist, they were even more ecstatic.

"We spent so much time on it we got sick of it," Bridget laughed.

"But now it's being used and appreciated it's pretty cool."

The DVD was made all in the girls' own time with the help of Craighead english and classics teacher John Hayden.

Mr Hayden said for a school the size of Craighead to be in the six best in the country was an outstanding achievement.

As he had some previous experience in film-making he agreed to help the girls with the DVD while they taught him a bit about science at the same time.

Craighead was the only South Canterbury school selected as a finalist from a national field of 37 entries.

The group will now head to Dunedin on July 1 for a film-making course.

The overall winning team will be announced on July 6 and will travel to Greenland to look at the effects of climate change on the Greenland Ice Sheet.

 

International flights diverted due to Auckland fog

12:40PM Friday May 04, 2007

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=104&objectid=10437778

The air force base at Ohakea became host to a second Air New Zealand aircraft today following last night's emergency landing, but this time the weather was to blame.

A Boeing 747 travelling from Hong Kong to Auckland with 267 people onboard diverted to Ohakea when fog prevented it landing in Auckland. It was Flight NZ38 and landed at 9am.

A number of takeoffs and landings were delayed by the Auckland fog after it blanketed most of the city and suburbs early today.

A Korea Air flight from Incheon scheduled to arrive at 9.30am was diverted to Christchurch.

Shortly before midday Auckland International Airport said the Hong Kong flight diverted to Ohakea had landed in Auckland and the Korean Air flight diverted to Christchurch was due to land in Auckland at 1pm.

The fog was starting to lift and flights were returning to normal, the airport operator said.

The airport earlier said the fog was down to 300 metres.

The harbour bridge and city were enveloped in fog until about 8am but police said it caused no problems on the roads.

An Air New Zealand 737 is still at Ohakea after making an emergency landing last night but passengers on the domestic flight flew out at 2.30am this morning after being fed "tea and bikkies" and given access to the gym and officers' mess.

This time the passengers on the 747 diverted by fog are not allowed off the aircraft because there are no customs facilities at Ohakea.

Air New Zealand spokesman David Jamieson said staff from Palmerston North headed to Ohakea with food and the entertainment system of the aircraft was powered up.

"In situations like this we are always very grateful for the assistance the RNZAF provide us. They do a superb job," Mr Jamieson said.

Last July 1400 international travellers were stranded in aircraft at Ohakea when Auckland was blanketed by fog, leaving some grumpy passengers in their seats for an extra eight hours.

 

Greymouth hit by series of twisters

NZPA | Friday, 11 May 2007 http://www.stuff.co.nz/4056183a10.html

 

SUSAN PRETORIOUS/Supplied

THERE SHE BLOWS: A picture sent in by a reader of house in Karoro which was damaged by the twister in Greymouth this afternoon.

A series of small tornados tore off roofs and downed trees in parts of Greymouth this afternoon.

A torrential downpour and lightning shortly before 1pm caused damage in isolated pockets across town. Roofs were blown off, iron strewn along streets, letterboxes blown from their bases and fences collapsed in Cobden, Boddytown and Karoro.

Boddytown resident Stephanie White was at home alone when it hit. "The noise – I thought the house and all would be lifted up. It was a tornado, I could see it coming, I saw it swirling. I thought, this is it."

Inspecting the damage afterwards, she found a more than 100-year-old pine tree which was a landmark in Boddytown had been badly damaged.

There was more damage to roofs at Fernhill Place, Karoro. Postie Dave Butcher was driving his van past Video Ezy during the March 2005 tornado when the big tornado hit.

It was a case of deja vu today when he was having lunch and a smaller tornado hit. "I heard it. I went outside to shift the van and the next thing, the roof is off."

The Greymouth Volunteer Fire Brigade was kept busy for more than two hours picking up iron that had been blown from house roofs and was strewn around Cobden streets. Firefighters were erecting tarpaulins on the damaged homes.

 

Fierce winds create disruptions in south

By CASSANDRA POKONEY - The Southland Times | Thursday, 17 May 2007

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/southlandtimes/4062048a6011.html

BARRY HARCOURT/Southland Times/Image ID 104627

IRONMEN: Invercargill firefighters Julian Tohiariki, Russell Fairbrass and Nathan Renfree nailing down roofing iron on a house in Pomona St after high winds buffeted the city yesterday.

Residents in the far south rocked and rolled yesterday as gale-force winds tore through the province.

Gusts of up to 120kmh ripped through Invercargill, lifting roofing iron, uprooting trees, and disrupting power supplies. Gore residents battened down the hatches against gusts of around 110kmh.

MetService forecaster Neal Osborne said while Invercargill and Gore had borne the brunt of the weather, Queenstown had escaped the gales, registering gusts of around 63kmh. Data for Central and South Otago was not available, he said.

He attributed the high winds to a deep low south of the country.

"That's really stirring up strong winds," he said.

Rough seas whipped up by the high winds forced the cancellation of both Foveaux Strait ferry crossings.

Stewart Island Experience area manager Matt Sillars said the morning and afternoon crossings had been cancelled because of rough seas.

 

Lead weather forecaster with the Meterological Service of New Zealand (MetService).

5:00AM Wednesday May 23, 2007 By Angela McCarthy    My Job Story

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/column/story.cfm?c_id=266&objectid=10441225

Ramon Oosterkamp checking equipment at the Met Service. Photo / Mark Mitchell

MY JOB

Name: Ramon Oosterkamp (37)

Role: Lead weather forecaster with the Meterological Service of New Zealand (MetService).

Shift hours: Six days on and three days off, three nights on and three days off.

Average pay: Trainees around $28K. With 10 years experience $68K-$80K plus additional penal rates for work between 7pm-7am.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Science in maths and physics from Massey University. Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Science in Meteorology at Victoria University. WMO (World Meterological Organisation) Class 1 Forecasting accreditation.

Describe what you do.

I've been working for the last 10 years as a weather forecaster for MetService in Wellington.

I currently work in the aviation division, primarily writing forecasts for airports and providing route forecasts for domestic and recreational pilots. This is done on a 24-hour basis.

I've just come back from the public section where we write forecasts for radio, TV, newspaper, internet and deal with media calls and inquiries.

There is also a marine section, which undertakes coastal and inshore forecasting as well as gale and storm warnings for the Pacific region.

How do you actually go about forecasting the weather?

Most of the information reaches MetService by computer. We then use computer modelling techniques together with real-time data to find a solution. This includes satellite data, radar, computer models and real-time weather information from remote sensors. Twice daily we have 'nodding', where we run through what we think the weather is going to be like for the next two days. The senior forecaster starts, then the lead forecasters comment followed by other forecasters. If you provide a good argument, you'll be listened to. Over the years you learn pattern recognition. You've seen this before and know you need to look for this, this and this. It is always a group effort.

Why did you choose this line of work?

I wasn't sure what to do after finishing my degree. A friend suggested attending the MetServices recruitment seminar. I applied and got in. Once I started I felt a real affinity for it and I can't see myself doing anything else now. I'd always been interested in the weather. As a surfer I spent a lot of time looking at weather maps.

What kind of clients do you have?

 

Nelson, Taranaki drenched by weather bombs

The Nelson Mail and Taranaki Daily News | Wednesday, 23 May 2007 http://www.stuff.co.nz/4069949a10.html

MARTIN DE RUYTER/Nelson Mail

WADING IN: Benjamin Slierendrecht, right and Justin Slierendrecht walk around their Arapiki Rd home flooded during heavy rain in Nelson today.

MARTIN DE RUYTER/Nelson Mail

MUDDY MESS: A slip covers part of a property and car in Panorama Heights, Stoke after heavy rain in Nelson.

Nelson and Taranaki were cleaning up today after weather "bombs" exploded over the regions, causing flash flooding, sweeping a car out to sea and prompting the emergency rescue of 20 dogs from a boarding kennel.

The three-hour deluge hit the northern part of Taranaki hardest with a number of houses on the banks of the Oakura River (15km south west of New Plymouth) subjected to a flash flood. One occupant could only watch as his late model BMW was swept into the river and carried out to sea.

Just north of New Plymouth the Waiwakaiho River burst its banks and swamped the picturesque Meeting of the Waters reserve. Kennels nearby were also cut off and rescuers had to wade through chest-deep water to pluck animals to safety.

Meanwhile in Nelson, flash flooding inundated roads and houses and overloaded the city's sewerage system.

Nelson weather forecaster John Mathieson said 98mm of rain fell at the Stoke weather station in the 24 hours to 8.50am, with up to 7mm to 10mm an hour recorded during the height of the storm.

Winds averaged 50kmh, with northeasterly gusts of up to 79kmh recorded at Monaco about 7am.

Emergency services and council workers were stretched as homeowners, businesses and motorists jammed switchboards with calls for help.

Nelson City Council infrastructure divisional manager Fraser Galloway said this morning the flooding was especially bad between Arapiki Rd and Saxton Field.

He said one of the major concerns was overloaded sewage pumps, which resulted in raw sewage entering the Waimea Estuary.

"It's been frantic around here this morning. We have contractors and staff with sandbags trying to protect properties.

"Nayland College has been closed and the sewage pump stations at Quarantine Rd, Parkers Rd and Songer St are overflowing."

Nelson Fire Service deputy chief fire officer Tim Bennion said volunteer firefighters and additional staff were called in to help clear a backlog of calls about flooded properties.

Panorama Drive and Marsden Valley Rd had been worst hit.

Arapiki Rd resident Andre Slierendrecht said ankle-deep water poured through his living room. It was the worst flooding he had heard of in the area in about 20 years.

Waterhouse St residents Linda Case and Brent O'Connor's home suffered extensive damage after chest-deep water flooded into their garage. A backyard swimming pool was barely visible beneath the waters.

Drainage covers above a culvert running beneath Panorama Drive and throughout Stoke were lifted as the water pressure built up.

The pressure caused parts of the road surface in Panorama Drive to bulge and lift.

A large slip blocked the entrance to a property near the top of the hill, almost covering a parked car.

Cars were backed up all the way from the Stoke shops to Nelson city after 9am.

Senior Constable Phil Wylie of Nelson police said Whakatu Drive "looked like a waterfall" this morning, with cars backed up in surface flooding.

Students at Nayland College were excited to be sent home at 10.30am after flooding affected corridors and outdoor areas in the lower part of the school.

Deputy principal Margaret LeNedelec said about 500 "very brave" students made it to school before being sent home.

She said a stream running along the school boundary, which was usually just a "trickle", had burst its banks.

The school's carpark was flooded, as was the shower block next to the gymnasium. The roof of the performance art area had leaked, causing carpets to become saturated.

Tahuna Beach Holiday Park manager Ann Cumpstone said staff and holidaymakers struggled to enter the campground this morning, with the front entrance, carpark and shop flooded.

The storm also hit Golden Bay where lightning was believed to be the cause of a major power cut last night which left 902 households without power for almost six hours. The area affected was from Swamp Rd, Takaka to Collingwood township, Bainham, Puponga and the west coast of Golden Bay.

 

 Flash floods hit Taranaki and Nelson

5:05PM Wednesday May 23, 2007  http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=104&objectid=10441347

By Sophie Hazelhurst NZPA

A BMW was washed a kilometre down the swollen Oakura River after heavy rain hit the Taranaki region. Photo / NZPA

Flash floods hit Nelson and New Plymouth today, sparking scores of emergency calls, sending knee-deep rainwater through residences, and washing a BMW out to sea.

The MetService recorded a total of 98mm of rain fell in Nelson in the 24 hours to 9am today.

Forecaster Oliver Druce said 53mm had fallen in one hour between 8am and 9am.

"That's pretty extreme," he said.

"Fortunately it was just for the one hour, some other major floods in the past have been at that level sustained over several hours."

Nelson deputy chief fire officer Tim Bennion said the fire service had attended 70 calls this morning.

Extra staff had been called in, and volunteer brigades from Richmond had assisted.

Eight appliances went directly from property to property, pumping out water, he said.

"It was mainly surface flooding, some of it knee deep," he said.

"The majority was affecting low lying garages and basements."

Mr Bennion said he was not aware of any property suffering major damage.

Nelson City Council divisional infrastructure manager Fraser Galloway said fire and clean up crews had done an excellent job since this morning.

A few road slips had been cleared, and stabilisation work would begin in one or two areas tomorrow.

The downpour overwhelmed the city's sewerage system and some had been discharged to the sea, Mr Galloway said.

A warning had been issued advising people not to gather shellfish or swim in the Waimea Estuary until further notice.

Stoke was hardest hit, with Nayland College, Nayland Primary School and Broadgreen School closed today because of the flooding.

In New Plymouth, 36mm had fallen this morning, with higher readings around the district, including 68mm on Mt Taranaki and 100mm at Dawson Falls.

In New Plymouth, fire crews responded to around half a dozen call outs, after a heavy downpour around 11am.

New Plymouth fire senior station officer Ian Drewery said many houses suffered flooding after leaf-clogged drains overflowed.

Several rivers and streams threatened to break their banks, and in Hall Terrace, in Oakura, a BMW was washed into the Oakura River and out to sea.

Other than the loss of the car, Mr Drewery said he was not aware of much major damage. A ceiling had collapsed at one downtown building, but fire crews had not been called to assist.

"Our residents are pretty resilient.

"This was just a flash weather event which was over in less than an hour," he said.

The MetService said the rain band would have moved over the east coast and away from New Zealand by this evening.

 

Weather agencies tipped to merge

By PAUL GORMAN - The Press | Thursday, 24 May 2007 http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4070243a7693.html

A merger of the MetService and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) is on the cards, say senior Government sources.

The Press understands that the Government is still keen to see the warring agencies merged following the souring of relations between the two.

A merger proposal was floated behind closed doors last year by a government review panel, but was apparently rejected.

However, the idea still appears to be alive, with at least one senior minister determined to push through a merger in the next year.

The organisations have been bracing for changes after July, when the mediator brought in last year to resolve deepening differences between them will report to their shareholding ministers.

State-owned Enterprises Minister Trevor Mallard is responsible for MetService, which has a core Government contract to produce day-to-day weather forecasting and weather warnings, while Research, Science and Technology Minister Steve Maharey looks after Crown research institute Niwa, which carries out atmospheric research.

Sources have previously told The Press that the mediation, by Auckland company director Alison Paterson, may result in a major shake-up in the provision of national weather forecasts.

However, now it appears the changes may go much further.

Despite that, a spokeswoman for Mallard said there were "no plans to merge", as did MetService deputy chief executive Dr Neil Gordon.

Maharey's office did not want to comment, and neither did Niwa.

Niwa is the larger organisation, with 635 full-time equivalent staff.

MetService has about 200 staff.

Both are successful companies – Niwa's last full-year profit was $6.4 million, the MetService's was $2.8m.

The Press understands tensions between the two have arisen because of Niwa's ability to produce daily forecasts and severe-weather warnings using a forecasting model developed on its multimillion-dollar Cray computer.

Jack Frost lets his presence be felt

PAUL TAYLOR 29.05.2007

http://www.hbtoday.co.nz/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3735889&thesection=localnews&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection=

Cold start along the banks of the Karamu Stream on the outskirts of Hastings. HBTODAY PICTURE: PAUL TAYLOR

Yes, if you thought there was more of a bite in the air this morning rather than a nip then you were right.

After a May month of mild mornings, Hawke's Bay felt the first frosty fingers of winter today with early-risers heading for the hot water tap to fill a bucket to clear off iced-up car windows.

Napier recorded an overnight air minimum of 0.7deg and a grass minimum of -0.2deg.

But Hastings folks really got the best (or worst) of the first substantial frost of the year with a -1deg air temperature and a -5deg grass minimum.

However, MetService said the timing for the first frost was about right, despite the lingering Indian summer, although June and July were likely to be like May, and be slightly above average temperature-wise.

Despite the chill, Hawke's Bay folks can take solace in the fact that while the start of winter is three days away, daytime temperatures of 16 and 17deg and sunshine are forecast through until Saturday, with 20deg reckoned on today.

Compare that to several locations in the northern hemisphere today which are three days away from the first day of summer.

London - 13deg and rain; Cardiff - 10deg and rain; Paris - 18deg and showers; Edinburgh (or should that be Edinbrrrrrr) - 12deg and rain.

 

East Coast drought leaves Gisborne facing water crisis

11:15AM Friday June 01, 2007 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=104&objectid=10443092

The situation has not improved since a dry summer. File photo / Wairarapa Times-Age

Gisborne city could face a mid-winter crisis with the prospect of water restrictions if there is no significant rain in the next few weeks.

Gisborne District Council said yesterday there were 50 days' supply left in the Mangapoike lakes at the present level of daily consumption.

Farmers in Gisborne, Hawkes Bay and Wairarapa are already struggling to cope after receiving less than half the normal rainfall this year.

Gisborne Council acting engineering and works manager Geoff Cobb said today the situation was being closely monitored.

When 40 days' supply was left, the council would launch a media campaign to get the public to conserve water, he said.

At the 36-day point it would have to look at water restrictions and at 32 days would have to consider bringing in the Waipaoa River augmentation plant at Bushmere.

They would not do that lightly because this water was so expensive.

The important thing about the Waipaoa plant was that it could fill all the city's reservoirs overnight.

Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton has said he will visit the East Coast next week as farmers struggle to cope with the dry conditions in the region.

Drought conditions have caused a shortage of feed, so many farmers may have to get rid of stock in an attempt to preserve winter food supplies for the animals.

Charlie Pedersen from Federated Farmers says the sale of so much stock from one region would have a significant impact on the local economy as prices could bottom out if too much stock hits the market at once.