Mountain Waves

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cupoteacoast
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Joined: Fri 17/08/2012 06:43
Location: Paekakariki, Kapiti Coast, NEW ZEALAND
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Mountain Waves

Unread post by cupoteacoast »

Thought others might like to see this. We get highly orographic weather in Paekakariki, often against all forecasts. It has been degenerating for a while now and overall we are getting colder, to the stage where the NE, E and SE foehns can be bitterly cold, particularly during an S/SE anticyclone where the wind chill can be unreal. Since 2012 we've been the recipients of the big mountain waves. They are bitterly cold. Mountain Cirrus arrived here this year and it sure brings a very cold wind with it. We get lenticular to low stratus levels, or it simply falls from the sky with the big waves, as well as a jump zone that is very low down and now far more frequent. SW or W coming up as an SW and opposite about Canterbury is the common denominator with an E/SE anticyclone. The worst of the lot are the SE upper troughs ... we get waves straight down into us with cold inversions repeatedly throughout the night as the trough is opposite Canterbury. If it is a big upper trough then it can start from Otago. Big SE orographic storms now hit us with their bases at ground level, or not far above it. The anticyclonic SE foehn turned freezing here in the 1990's. I had a pleasant chat with NIWA re how cold it would eventually get, and can fully sympathise with the scientists not having data for a location like Paekakariki. Can't be easy for them. Next step is to get my station on line so they can monitor. Meanwhile we get some unreal stuff here at times with accompanying shear. It is an eye opener watching the big mountain waves shear off an incoming NW.
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cupoteacoast
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri 17/08/2012 06:43
Location: Paekakariki, Kapiti Coast, NEW ZEALAND
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Re: Mountain Waves

Unread post by cupoteacoast »

I'm waiting for a wave or jump zone to literally hit the ground. In 2012, tornadic style rotors killed sheep here and even ripped branches and tore up soil. We get both types of rotor clouds.
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