Manukau heads observer wrote:we got to 48 kts with the front passage
not as strong as i expected, we have had worse
did a drive around , some branches /twigs etc blown off
and a large rotten microcarpa tree completly blocking a minor road
I see the castle hill webcam and weather station stopped at 08:01am this morning, and by the look of it they had had a decent amount of snow. Possible power went out up there?
03Stormchaser wrote:I see the castle hill webcam and weather station stopped at 08:01am this morning, and by the look of it they had had a decent amount of snow. Possible power went out up there?
Very likely did. We lost power down here around the same time.
To add to our woes - the water is off on the North Shore. We have power, but all of our systems are down except the internet maybe we will be sent home soon?
GraemeWi wrote:To add to our woes - the water is off on the North Shore. We have power, but all of our systems are down except the internet maybe we will be sent home soon?
No water for Lattes, yet you still went to work? I'm...I'm...just...it's...but...how...?
I was told to stay home today, so I did. Devastated I was.
GraemeWi wrote:To add to our woes - the water is off on the North Shore. We have power, but all of our systems are down except the internet maybe we will be sent home soon?
No water for Lattes, yet you still went to work? I'm...I'm...just...it's...but...how...?
I was told to stay home today, so I did. Devastated I was.
I had my flat white at 9 ish this morning - watching the horizontal rain out the window. No water for us here also means issues with sewage....
GraemeWi wrote:I had my flat white at 9 ish this morning - watching the horizontal rain out the window. No water for us here also means issues with sewage....
I remember driving around near the intersection of Khyber Pass and Symonds St one hot summer night and the pungent odour of poo was very noticeable.
squid wrote:awesome pics and reports looks like metservice were spot on with this system.
what is the lowest pressure that everyone has recorded during this??
To be honest metservice and blueskies missed it, with blueskies being the better of the two in there forecasts, the winner today goes to Jason!!
squid wrote:awesome pics and reports looks like metservice were spot on with this system.
what is the lowest pressure that everyone has recorded during this??
To be honest metservice and blueskies missed it, with blueskies being the better of the two in there forecasts, the winner today goes to Jason!!
I only got the temperature wrong, everything else was spot on!
Wellington - Severe winter storms dumped heavy snow and rain on parts of South Island on Monday as high winds cut power to half the homes and many businesses in the northern city of Auckland, emergency services said.
Premises were plunged into darkness and traffic light outages caused traffic chaos in Auckland's central business district after a wire snapped cutting electricity supplies to half the city, Transpower spokesperson Chris Roberts said.
Some buildings without power in Auckland's CBD were evacuated as staff were told it would be several hours before power could be restored.
Roberts said nothing could be done to ease the chaos caused by traffic lights being out.
Police reported no immediate serious road or other accidents.
They warned several South Island highways were impassable after up to 15cm of overnight snow blanketed much of the island as an icy wintry blast swept north across the country.
Roberts said there had been about 50 similar power blackout incidents on South Island during the night.
"With the storm it is inevitable you are going to get some problems," he said.
Police warned of "treacherous" road conditions around Canterbury region and advised people who did not need to travel to stay at home. Motorists travelling in the south of South Island were told to carry snow chains.
Airplane flights were also disrupted when snow and bad weather forced Christchurch International Airport to close, stranding of hundreds of travellers.
In the capital, Wellington, winds gusting up to 130km/h overnight ripped roofs from homes and other buildings as a storm front passed through the area.
Schools were closed in Christchurch and Timaru today and several South Island roads were impassable as snow blanketed much of the island in a cold blast of wintry weather sweeping north across the country.
Snow fell steadily in central Christchurch, closing Christchurch International Airport from about 8.30am and disrupting the travel plans of hundreds of passengers.
City and rural bus services were also affected.
An airport spokeswoman said contractors were working to clear the main runway of snow. Some flights managed to arrive and depart earlier, but heavy snow closed the main runway from about 8.30am.
Flights were being diverted "all over the country," she said.
Ministry of Education regional manager Michael De'Ath said he did not have full details of which schools were closed as they were not obliged to seek permission from the ministry. But he said it appeared most schools were shut.
A number of power lines were down in Timaru and surrounding areas and police urged caution until power companies were able to make repairs.
Police were urging residents to keep an ear on local radio stations for updates on weather conditions.
In Christchurch, buses were no longer running on the hill suburbs and some rural services to Lincoln and Rangiora were cancelled.
Christchurch City Council spokesman Terry Sefton said the bottom part of Dyers Pass Rd was closed, as was the Summit Rd from the Sign of the Kiwi to Gebbies Pass.
Surface flooding was also reported at the intersection of Wigram Rd and Hayton Rd and those roads were likely to be closed all day.
Mr Sefton said Banks Peninsula appeared to have escaped any snow and all peninsula roads were open.
The bad weather disrupted train services in Canterbury and the West Coast this morning, Ontrack chief operating officer William Peet said.
"Snow on the Midland Line has forced the cancellation of the Tranz Alpine Express this morning."
He said that a washout that occurred near Greymouth yesterday had been repaired and had it not been for frozen points as a result of heavy snow, the services could have run.
MetService forecasts predicted the heavy snow in South Canterbury should gradually ease this morning and clear this afternoon, but another 5cm of snow was likely.
Snow was expected to persist in North Canterbury to about midday, with another 10cm to 15cm likely in places down to sea level.
Heavy snow was also predicted to spread into the Kaikoura coast area, with 10cm down to 200m from mid-morning to late afternoon.
A strong wind warning was issued for the North Island as the rapidly deepening low pressure system crossed central New Zealand.
Severe gales battered the lower North Island overnight, bringing down tree branches and power lines on the SH5 Napier to Taupo route.
Police warned of "treacherous" road conditions around Canterbury and advised people who did not need to travel to stay at home.
State Highway 73 between Springfield and Arthurs Pass (Porters Pass), SH82 between SH1 and SH82 and Kurow, SH8 between Timaru and Lake Tekapo, SH79 between Fairlie and the junction of SH1 and SH79, and SH1 between Ashburton and Timaru, were closed.
Police advised motorists travelling in Southland and Otago to carry chains.
Inspector Bob Palmer, of the police southern communications centre in Christchurch, urged people to travel only if absolutely necessary and to observe all road closures.
In North Canterbury, high winds and rain were causing many slips and tree branches to fall and police urged drivers to take "extreme caution" on SH7 and SH7A in the Hanmer Plains, Culverden and Waiau areas.
Emergency services on the West Coast were continung the cleanup today after widespread flooding hit the region yesterday.
In the Grey District a number of roads were under water and a mini tornado ripped a roof off a house in central Greymouth.
Roads closed in Canterbury included: State Highway 73 between Springfield and Arthurs Pass (Porters Pass), SH82 between SH1 and SH82 and Kurow, SH8 between Timaru and Lake Tekapo, SH79 between Fairlie and the Junction of SH1 and SH79, and SH1 between Ashburton and Timaru.
Power blackout causes chaos in Auckland, snow covers Canterbury
UPDATED 12.50pm Monday June 12, 2006
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Power was knocked out in Auckland this morning, causing chaos on the roads and railways, halting all but emergency treatment in the city's hospitals and trapping people in lifts in the CBD.
When power was finally restored after about four hours at 12.40pm, Auckland mayor Dick Hubbard said questions had to be asked about why the CBD and 700,000 people should lose electricity through one section of power line going out.
"It would be appropriate to ask questions why and whether there is an unreasonable level of vulnerability," he said.
The storm sweeping up the country also brought heavy snow to the South Island. Mid and south Canterbury woke up to the first heavy snowfall of the season.
Schools were closed in Christchurch and Timaru and Christchurch International Airport was closed from about 8.30am.
Auckland City Police mobilised its district emergency management plan and Auckland City Council activated its emergency operations centre. Full restoration of power was not expected until mid-afternoon, power company Vector said.
Middlemore and Auckland City hospitals cancelled all surgery and emergency departments were handling urgent cases only. North Shore and Waitakere Hospitals were not affected.
The fire service and lift companies released some people trapped in elevators.
More than 300 sets of traffic lights were out in central Auckland and a Vector spokeswoman said Manukau was also affected, while police said the power cut stretched to Hamilton. Thousands of homes, businesses and shops were without power.
The blackout stopped trains on the Auckland network. Back-up systems came into operation and allowed limited services to operate, but one passenger, Jon Reeves, told nzherald.co.nz it took him 2 hours to get to work on a journey which usually takes 20 minutes.
A spokesman for Ontrack in Auckland said: "We haven't been able to bring trains into Britomart station. Passengers have been discharged at Newmarket and the Strand and subsequent services have been scheduled to operate to and from there.
"An earlier ... failure on the Western Line, that disrupted services from 6am, was unrelated to the power failure. It has now been repaired."
Strong winds and a high tide were causing the sea to break over the causeway on Tamaki Drive. Some motorists were driving on the wrong side of the road to avoid the waves and traffic was backed up.
MetService issued a weather warning this morning saying high winds would affect the whole of the North Island while snow would continue but then ease in Canterbury.
A Vector spokeswoman said the cause of the Auckland blackout was a fault on the Transpower network. She said: "An earth wire has snapped and fallen across the 110 kv feeder from the Otahuhu substation.
"All efforts are focused on restoring power as soon as possible."
Transpower's Chris Roberts said 1000 megawatts of supply had been lost and at this time on a winter's morning, close to 2000 megawatts would normally be used.
Transpower presumed the power failure was weather related but could not rule out a maintenance-related problem, he said.
Cellphone coverage was also affected in Auckland.
Police asked people in Auckland to only contact them in emergencies as they were aware of the weather and power situation. They said some drivers were guilty of "lunacy" in the bad conditions, doing U-turns and driving the wrong way.
The fire service said it had received around 50 calls, including some from people trapped in lifts in the Auckland CBD. Fallen trees and powerlines were also causing problems on the roads.
Auckland council advised motorists to stay off the roads and companies and schools not to send staff and pupils home because traffic lights were down.
The council said a number of its wastewater pumps were without power and asked people not to wash clothes or dishes and only flush toilets when absolutely necessary.
Mobile telephones should only be used for essential calls, the council said.
High winds caused the closure of Tauranga Airport this morning and a fallen tree closed the northbound lane on SH22 at Pukekohe Golf course.
Severe gales battered the lower North Island overnight bringing down tree braches and power lines on SH5 on the Napier to Taupo road.
Heavy rain is forecast for later today bringing flooding.
Despite the severe conditions Cook Strait ferry sailings had not been affected and flights in and out of Wellington Airport were still on schedule.
MetService forecaster Cameron Coutts said galeforce winds were expected to batter the country for the most of the morning.
The front would clear the North Island early afternoon and by tonight just showers and winds would be sweeping most of the country, he said.
MetService weather warning issued at 8.55am this morning:
A rapidly deepening low is forecast to cross central New Zealand around the middle of today, bringing stormy conditions to the North Island, with potentially damaging winds for many parts of the North Island through to this afternoon.
Gusts of 120 to 150 km/h are possible just about anywhere over the North Island, but most especially about higher areas and exposed coastal regions.
A brief burst of heavy rain is also likely about the Tararuas and higher areas of the North Island from Taranaki across the central plateau to the ranges of Bay of Plenty and northern Gisborne.
Here, 60 to 100mm of rain is likely to fall during Monday morning or early afternoon.
Heavy snow over South Canterbury should gradually ease this morning and clear this afternoon, with another 5cm likely.
The heavy snow over North Canterbury is expected to persist through to about midday, with another 10 to 15cm likely in places down to near sea level.
The snow should ease in North Canterbury early afternoon and clear by late afternoon.
Heavy snow is also expected to spread into the Kaikoura Coast area, with 10cm of snow likely here down to 200 metres from mid morning through to late afternoon, before clearing this evening.
I can't remember any storm being this widespread and damaging!
-Power out in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, many parts of the eastern South Island
- Snow enforced closures and buildign collapses reported in South Canterbury and North
- gales in Wellington
-severe gales and heavy downpours in Auckland, flooding in Taranaki
- Report of a tornado in Tauranga
- Grey River close to bursting in Greymouth
Razor wrote:I can't remember any storm being this widespread and damaging!
-Power out in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, many parts of the eastern South Island
- Snow enforced closures and buildign collapses reported in South Canterbury and North
- gales in Wellington
-severe gales and heavy downpours in Auckland, flooding in Taranaki
- Report of a tornado in Tauranga
- Grey River close to bursting in Greymouth
Makes our 4cm here in the city look tiny! 
lol