End of week bitterly cold outbreak

Manukau heads obs · Sat 05/07/2003 13:29

been a good hail shower in waiuku and pukekohe....the later got down to 5oC at 1pm...
currently 7oC here and raining at 1:30pm in the afternoon!
with a 15 knot SWer to boot, making for a real cold windchill
so much for being the winterless north!

jeffsweather · Unread post by **jeffsweather** » Sat 05/07/2003 13:43

I just arrived home from cycling up to the top of Dyers Pass on the Port Hills to see how the weather was up there. I encountered most weather on the ride, ice pellets, snow, hail, rain and that was before I started the climb!

There was about the same amount of snow as there is on my back lawn up to the Sign of the Takahe (for those who don't know where that is, it's about 1/3 of the way up) and less snow as I climbed.

At the top, 335m ASL there was about a 1cm covering which looked like it mostly consists of ice pellets. It was quite dry, well not mushy.

The road was closed from the Sign of the Takahe so it was a nice quiet enjoyable ride up and a very cold coming down.

I'll put a few photos up on my web site later in the afternoon.

Snow on the back lawn is now melting in the sun but it looks like another shower coming up from the south. 2.6C here now.

Skywatcher · Unread post by **Skywatcher** » Sat 05/07/2003 14:03

Took this looking SSE from here at about 1pm.

Not a good photo as the cloud was so bright in the sunshine I needed sunglasses to look at it !

The Westlake, Halswell weather (was Spreydon) website had a picture of the Port Hills this morning and they didn't seem to have much snow on them which was surprising and disappointing.

I've switched the webcam input to a b&w security camera over the front door so you can see the snow melting on the front lawn at:

http://www.templeton.gen.nz/webcam/index.htm

Currently about 2C with a light WSW.

Cheers,
Steven

Achten · Unread post by **Achten** » Sat 05/07/2003 16:03

Now snowing quite heavily Just South of Hastings, temp is 4.1c

Weather Watcher · Unread post by **Weather Watcher** » Sat 05/07/2003 16:05

Snow has settled on the hills around Wellington and the Hutt Valley down to about 200 metres. About 5cm of snow was lying at the summit of Kaitoke Hill (250m) at about 3pm. The Rimutaka Hill Road is closed, and there is a good covering of snow on the ranges. Weather here in Lower Hutt is frequent showers with embedded soft hail. Still snowing on the ranges. No thunderstorms.

tich · Unread post by **tich** » Sat 05/07/2003 16:56

Seems like a large area of the North Island is getting a full taste of this icy blast. From news and weather obs I guess that an unusual snow event is unfolding in the Manawatu Gorge/southern Hawkes Bay area. 3PM obs show only 3.7C in Palmerston North, and 5C in New Plymouth. (snow in Taranaki is probably down to below the park boundaries by now)

The BOP/Gisborne area I feel is still to feel the full icy blast. I looked at an online station for Rotorua, where a webcam showed partly cloudy skies, saying it was 7C at about 3PM (cold, but not exceptional for the time of year- I know, I used to live there), but with a falling barometer. It seems this is not a simple southerly outbreak, but more complicated beast - a cold front and trough having moved onto the lower half of the North Island, while another cold trough (probably the secondary system that dumped the snow on Southland yesterday) is moving in from the west, and already giving squally showers and single-figure temps for Northland and Auckland.

The worst of the storm seems to be passed now for Chch - mostly sunny this afternoon, but still only about 2-3C and a few brief sleety showers. Only a few small patches of snow left in the central city.

Manukau heads obs · Sat 05/07/2003 17:09

yes,exactly... the cold pool of air is still to move into the central north island,.,...its been as cold here in the auckland area as taupo/rotorua today...
now only 6.8oc here with wind blowing 1 to 15 knots,,,

probbaly by now the cold air has arrived in the central NI
http://www.weatherobservatory.bravepage ... ather.html

now only 4.7oc in rotorua and getting colder at the 5pm update

update:
waiuku must be getting a real good hail shower.
temperature there only 2.5oC

the clouds just off the coast here are black as....and have that snow look about them....!!
temperature here only now 6.6oC, and I am at 30m above sea level only...
so if gets a bit colder yet. I wouldnt be surprised if snow falls on top of the mombay hills (1000 feet high)

Dean. · Unread post by **Dean.** » Sat 05/07/2003 18:57

Will keep an eye on your temps Brian,hopefully they keep on dropping!!.
This is a freak system so it wouldnt suprise me.

Thunder · Unread post by **Thunder** » Sat 05/07/2003 19:03

Yes John, I saw a couple of those Cb's floating about today with one giving me here in Southshore a bit of sleety sort of stuff - very short shower though. I'm going to move out into the country beyond Chch when the time comes, not very interesting here

. That snow Dean in Ashburton sounds great!

There is some snow above me here on the Port Hills. Well, although this was ment to be a bitterly cold outbreak, I just got a bit of cold and no bitterly (snow - he he).

Cheers
Aaron Wilkinson

Thunder · Unread post by **Thunder** » Sat 05/07/2003 19:18

Just looked at your website Jeff with the snow photos, I haven't seen anything like that!, Is Hillmorton that much more above sea level? and is that why I'm not getting anything here in Southshore. Perhaps it's the sea water and the fact that I live on a spit that is keeping the ambient temp up slightly and thats why snow isn't setteling? I wouldn't have a clue? Help?

Also great photo Steven Grahem

! Does anyone have an indication of how high the Cb tops would have been here in Cantab today (5th).

Cheers
Aaron Wilkinson

Manukau heads obs · Sat 05/07/2003 19:24

the wind here has gone right around to the SE now,even ESE...
so thats the end of the shower activity for us up air I would say....

amazing its snowed in napier, but the isobars from there go all the way to antartica by the look of them on the latest msla surface map....i.e a open fridge door/corridor all the way to the ice shel, being sucked up by the newly developing low off napier
boy, its been one low after the next across the NI for the last week!

GreggWard · Unread post by **GreggWard** » Sat 05/07/2003 19:39

Lots of snow around the Manawatu today. Was trying to snow early in the afternoon here in Palmerston North, with what appeared to be slightly larger and slower falling droplets of rain, which when viewed on the windscreen of the car, would break up into to several smaller droplets on impact. Excuse my ignornace, but would this be sleet, or snow flakes that have only just melted.

Palmerston North sits at about 30 - 50m above sea level, so I don't think we were quite high enough to actually receive the snow flakes. However, both Ashhurst and Fielding, which are within 10mins drive, both received a light dumping of snow. Both of thes towns sit up slightly higher than PN.

Getting lots of dimming of the lights at the moment, probably due to the snow on some of the power lines up in the hills. The southerly has also picked up quite a bit now, making it feel really cold when you step outside.

Very exciting weather event and it was great to see the large involvement of the many weather observers around the country, sending reports into this forum, from their home bases.

Gregg

Michael · Unread post by **Michael** » Sat 05/07/2003 20:04

GreggWard wrote: Was trying to snow early in the afternoon here in Palmerston North, with what appeared to be slightly larger and slower falling droplets of rain, which when viewed on the windscreen of the car, would break up into to several smaller droplets on impact. Excuse my ignornace, but would this be sleet, or snow flakes that have only just melted.

Gregg

Sounds likes "freezing rain"-It is cold rain that has warmed up from ice crystals on the way down till it hits a cold surface and then freezes.

jeffsweather · Unread post by **jeffsweather** » Sun 06/07/2003 09:46

Aaron J Wilkinson wrote:Just looked at your website Jeff with the snow photos, I haven't seen anything like that!, Is Hillmorton that much more above sea level? and is that why I'm not getting anything here in Southshore. Perhaps it's the sea water and the fact that I live on a spit that is keeping the ambient temp up slightly and thats why snow isn't setteling? I wouldn't have a clue? Help?

Hi Aaron,
Hillmorton would be a little higher then you but only about 15 meters at the most. You are probably more sheltered by the Port Hills, I can get on the roof and have a good view to the south and south west. I record very little wind form the south east here.

I was surprised that there was not that much on Dyers Pass, looks like there might have been a little more fallen there overnight. We had another few mm a bit before 9pm last night.

When we had the snow last June, I got about 3cm here, one of the guys at work who lives out at Queespark didn't see any.

Skywatcher · Unread post by **Skywatcher** » Sun 06/07/2003 14:20

Great pictures, Jeff - feels cold just looking at the one with the "road closed" sign

Aaron, the satellite image decoding software I use reads the IR calibration data and displays the surface temperature under the mouse cursor. It's showing 7-8C for Pegasus Bay so that would probably help to melt any snow that made it over the Port Hills.

It's a pity that the Landcare NOAA images aren't updating at the moment to see the snow cover under mostly clear skies down here. The lower resolution image I received at 11am shows most of the Canterbury Plain covered except north of ChCh:

There's also a larger (138KB) version at: http://www.templeton.gen.nz/images/07052310-c.jpg

Cheers,
Steven

Thunder · Unread post by **Thunder** » Sun 06/07/2003 15:14

Thanks Jeff, this reason about the port hills blocking seems to be a good one.
You bet me to it Steven Graham, it is a pitty the NOAA images aren't updating themselves at present as they produce good images.

Does anyone know if you could expect snow to fall every year at least above Springfield for example, and how many years is it going to be until we experience some more snow here in Chch (how many years between snow in Chch?).

Cheers
Aaron Wilkinson

Manukau heads obs · Sun 06/07/2003 17:08

the other thing that could be happening aaron is as the wind blows down the slopes of the port hills onto you it will warm up a bit, and couple with a slight orographic effect of increased snowing on the top of the port hills before it gets to you (which releases more latent heat), you could be getting a mini fohn effect....
i have witnesed and seen where the snow line increase on the port hilss the further you go around close to the pacific....

Thunder · Unread post by **Thunder** » Sun 06/07/2003 17:59

Excellent suggestion Brian.

When I look at the Port Hills above me here the snow line is at least 175 - 225 m above sea level and it looks as if it got down no further in terms of it setteling during this cold outbreak. Yet it snowed and setteled as people have described on this forum living in Chch at Hilmorton (thanks Jeff) Somerfield (cheers John) and Templeton (Thankyou Graham).

All sumed up I need to move (when I'm older) into the country or the outskirts of Chch (Hornby / Halswell) and get away from this place to express my weather minded mind?..... All in good time!

Cheers
Aaron Wilkinson

ScottyD · Unread post by **ScottyD** » Tue 29/07/2003 21:51

This seems like a very late post on this topic but i had to have my $.02. I was in the south for this "mother of all storms", i thought i'd be going to the best place of all, Queenstown. Ha, did i get that wrong. I was in Wanaka for the Thursday night, hoping that the snow would arrive, I was up every hour looking out the window for the snow. Come morning i heard the wind change, got out of bed and it had just started to snow. I cant remember the time, but it was about 6:30, 7am. We were heading to Queenstown that day so i thought that i'd better pack up quickly and head off to avoid road closures. At about 8, the snow had stopped falling and there was a slight clearance, but i thought that this was only temporary. We took the long way to queenstown, thinking that the crown range would be closed, or that it was going to close. Well, we managed to drive all the way to queenstown without another snow shower, in fact, there wasn't to be anymore snow showers with this system. I haven't seen a snow shower since. There was maybe, 1 cm of snow in Arrowtown, the slightest dusting on the road to Queenstown and absolutely nothing in the centre of Queenstown. I was so dissapointed. I hear on the news that there was snow in Napier, Gisbourne, My parents saw more snow in Wellington.

Well that's enough of my moaning, had to get that off my chest, I'm over it now... now.

NZ Weather Forum

End of week bitterly cold outbreak

dissapointment