Record high rain rates

[David]

Hi to all, thought it would to be interesting to see who had recorded the highest rain rates with their rain gauge/ weather stations

I have only had rain recordings for the past two and a half years, but here are my highest intensities:
around 11pm 16 July 2005 during a great thunderstorm: 44mm in an hour
about 1.30am 3 May 2006 a massive downpour gave 23mm in about 10mins

[Manukau heads obs]

during the Pukekohe floods, 21 jan 2000 ( i think), I recorded 150mm in 1.5 hours (i.e 50mm per hour)

[David]

during the Pukekohe floods, 21 jan 2000 ( i think), I recorded 150mm in 1.5 hours (i.e 50mm per hour)

150mm in 1.5 hrs is a rate of 100mm/hr!
100mm in the first hour and 50mm in the half hour.

Anyways that is still incredible
Pukekohe floods were 1999

[spwill]

around 11pm 16 July 2005 during a great thunderstorm: 44mm in an hour
about 1.30am 3 May 2006 a massive downpour gave 23mm in about 10mins

Time of the day and year is interesting there.
26mm in 15min for central AK with that 3 May 06 shower. There was a waterspout near the Ak hbr bridge around that time from memory.

[David]

Time of day and year is interesting there

Did you not get that storm? It moved in from the Hauraki Gulf and lightning became visible 9pm - with very strong wind gusts coming from the storm here - lots of bright lightning and thunder with very heavy rain

I see that New Zealand's maximum rain rates for non- mountainous areas are both in the Auckland region:
107mm in 1hr at Whenuapai (1966)
109mm in 1 hr at Leigh (2001)
There is a higher unofficial record at Matauri Bay in the far north where it was reported a local rain gauge recorded 124mm in 1 hr

[Storm Struck]

Ive had some relativly ok amounts in short downpours here in my gauge, mainly from ones back in July when I recorded up to 96mm for the whole month.
I cant remember the actual totals, as they would probly vary depending on wether my gauge is fully accurate and positioned properly.
I do remember the heaviest rain ive ever been in so far, that was during a Thunderstorm in Golden Bay one night when up to 63mm of rain fell in 30 minutes according to the locals in Collingwood.
Cheers
Jason.

[Willoughby]

When I didn't have my own station the airport recieved 56mm in one hour from a severe thunderstorm November 23, 2003.

But since the station has been up i've since recorded 5.2mm in one minute 12 July 2006 from a severe hailstorm which also produced twin tornadoes near by!

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

Here in Canterbury, we don't get high rainfall totals in short periods, well not here, but in Selwyn Street there were one or two heavy bursts that would qualify for a heavy fall. They probably wouldn't qualify for Auckland/Northland standards which seem to be the place for heavy bursts of recorded rainfall rates apart from Mt. Egmont and the West Coast of the SI.

JohnGaul
NZTS

[David]

When I didn't have my own station the airport recieved 56mm in one hour from a severe thunderstorm November 23, 2003.

But since the station has been up i've since recorded 5.2mm in one minute 12 July 2006 from a severe hailstorm which also produced twin tornadoes near by!

I've recorded 4mm in one minute before, very heavy and very cool - that was during a severe squall on 8 October 2005 - wind speeds up to 110km/h made horizontal rain! To compare the world record intensity was 38.1mm in 1minute (2286mm/hr) - something I couldn't imagine.


Did anyone in Auckland get the thunderstorm on Feb 10 this year? - the storm rapidly developed in the afternoon due to heating and an unstable atmosphere within about 2 hours and the sky went dark for several hours with lots of thunder. It seemed to have congregated around central Auckland - the airport had 31mm and the Weymouth station reported 40mm in an hour. Unfortunately I was too far east and didn't get a drop

[Willoughby]

Did anyone in Auckland get the thunderstorm on Feb 10 this year? - the storm rapidly developed in the afternoon due to heating and an unstable atmosphere within about 2 hours and the sky went dark for several hours with lots of thunder. It seemed to have congregated around central Auckland - the airport had 31mm and the Weymouth station reported 40mm in an hour. Unfortunately I was too far east and didn't get a drop

Thread for that event: http://www.weatherforum.org.nz/phpBB3/v ... f=2&t=2342

[David]

I have this photo of a storm which gave 22mm in half an hour over Waiuku.

[Manukau heads obs]

re my 150mm in 1.5 hours
yes, i guess that does equate to 100mm in the first hour and then 50mm in the next 30 minutes
I have never thought of it that way to tell the truth
I cant remember if the year was 1999 or 2000 ...anyone else know?
At the time there was a dew point of 23oC and what was described a super saturated airmass
and then we had a weak sea breeze convergence over the peninsular here
and resulting convergence line was basicly stationary

caused alot of damage in the district, slips, washouts, etc
Pukekohe also had a similar convergence line over them
Niwa did a big study on the event

A person not far north of me recorded over 200m in the same period (but with only one of those small rain gauges!)

ps, it didnt rain for the next 6 weeks after that flash flood, and so we the contryside went from summer brown to green as back to brown again!

[David]

So you really did record 100mm in an hour? That's close to the record!

[spwill]

Might be Jan 99 Brian. Very humid unstable NE flow. late afternoon /evening convergence along the Northland/ Auckland West Coast. Dont think we got much here in the City.

[David]

About 100m away from me is this stream, and after a rate of 20m/hr it is at moderate height and flowing fast, but my neighbour who has lived in her house for over 40 years said that once during very heavy rainfall the stream rose to its highest and washed away the small bridge going over the top

[TokWW]

Hmmm 20m/hr - that is high!!

[David]

Just making sure you were awake

[Michael]

Yes i remember it the winds were NE then we Got just 10 mins of SouthWest Gales that abruptly abated

Did anyone in Auckland get the thunderstorm on Feb 10 this year? - the storm rapidly developed in the afternoon due to heating and an unstable atmosphere within about 2 hours and the sky went dark for several hours with lots of thunder. It seemed to have congregated around central Auckland - the airport had 31mm and the Weymouth station reported 40mm in an hour. Unfortunately I was too far east and didn't get a drop

Thread for that event: http://www.weatherforum.org.nz/phpBB3/v ... f=2&t=2342

[squid]

when i lived in NZ the highest rainfall rate was 37mm in 1 hr during an afternoon rain storm and that was followed by 28mm in the following hour the most rain in 24hrs i recorded was 80mm i have recorded more than that in a 24hr period since living in oz

[David]

Mumbai city having an area of 437 sq km with a population of 12 million came to a complete halt due to the
unprecedented rainfall of 994 mm during the 24 hours starting 0830 on 26 July 2005; with 380 mm falling in
just 3 hours between 1430 to 1730 and hourly rainfall exceeding 190 mm/h. This has exceeded the rainfall
record of Cherrapunji, which has been considered the world’s wettest place. At least 419 people (and
16,000 cattle) were killed due to the ensuing flash floods and landslides in the Mumbai Municipal area, and
another 216 due to flood related illnesses. Over 100,000 residential and commercial establishments and
30,000 vehicles were damaged.

Found this article, an incredible maximum rainfall rate of 190mm in an hour