Yet Another Fizzer
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For today's weather discussion head to: New Zealand Weather & Climate
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Yet Another Fizzer
Looks like another Fizzer is on it's way from Friday.
Although it will be cold I can't see anything exceptional happening despite the coldness of the air. Nothing to the south.
I like MetService's description on their latest advisory of a "Mother of All cold Outbreaks on it's way" I was close to my mother and it was a warm feeling not cold!
JohnGaul
NZTS
Although it will be cold I can't see anything exceptional happening despite the coldness of the air. Nothing to the south.
I like MetService's description on their latest advisory of a "Mother of All cold Outbreaks on it's way" I was close to my mother and it was a warm feeling not cold!
JohnGaul
NZTS
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Airflows this cold are unlikely to produce thunderstorms for the very reason Steven alluded to in another post, the depth of convection is often quite shallow. Thats also why significant hail is unlikely, more the fine ice pellets which are just frozen rain.
I recall a snow event back in Chch in the late 70s I think when a heavy hail storm preceded a snowfall, and the bed of hail on the ground helped the snow to settle overnight. Making snowmen the next day (hey, I was still at school then
) you could see the hail at the bottom of the snow layer. I seem to recall that there was a lightening strike on the Sugarloaf TV tower in that snow event, which rather makes my comments above about thunder and very cold airflows look a bit silly. Oh well 
I recall a snow event back in Chch in the late 70s I think when a heavy hail storm preceded a snowfall, and the bed of hail on the ground helped the snow to settle overnight. Making snowmen the next day (hey, I was still at school then


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Do MetService realize that the term "Mother" is short for "Mother-farquer"?
Ruth Richardson didn't realize this in 1991 when she described her budget being the "Mother of all Budgets"!
... Yes, anyway, I still think that nothing exceptional will happen from Friday, well in Canterbury anyway.
JohnGaul
NZTS
Ruth Richardson didn't realize this in 1991 when she described her budget being the "Mother of all Budgets"!
... Yes, anyway, I still think that nothing exceptional will happen from Friday, well in Canterbury anyway.
JohnGaul
NZTS
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Thunder is quite rare with snowy events. But thunder was reported during the mid Canterbury snow storm last winter . I doubt there would have been much though.
I remember being out in a snow storm many years ago in Dunedin.
There was an unexpected big bright flash followed by the thunder. An unusual occurance of thundersnow.
As Tony mentioned, thunder is unusual with snowy events because of the depth of the cumulonimbus. Cb tops are generally not high enough or the upward motion of the convection not strong enough.
I have found 7,000m the usual threshold for thunder development. So long as the upward motion achieves a threshold velocity too.
I remember being out in a snow storm many years ago in Dunedin.
There was an unexpected big bright flash followed by the thunder. An unusual occurance of thundersnow.
As Tony mentioned, thunder is unusual with snowy events because of the depth of the cumulonimbus. Cb tops are generally not high enough or the upward motion of the convection not strong enough.
I have found 7,000m the usual threshold for thunder development. So long as the upward motion achieves a threshold velocity too.
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Yep it dose happen down here in Central Otago.And just a comment on the Frozen rain. Has this phenomena ever been reported in NZ before. It is more a continental northern hemisphere weather type. The parts of NZ where this could occur are inland SI.
I have oberserved frozen rain (ice pellets) in England
Back when i was at high school after a week to 10 days of hoar frost it rain. The air temp was -5 and a rained
We wake up to blue sky and 2-3 inchs of ice covering everthing, there were people ice skating down the main street, school was shut for two days.
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I admit I am wrong regarding this event a Fizzer as I am picking up sferics as I type. It's now midnight.
I notice there is a large and beautiful cluster of unstable Cb forms in the Tasman Sea moving up the West Coast and also in a semi-circle heading towards Auckland. I also notice that some are sneaking up the Otago Coast as well.
It's still snowing here but very lightly like dandruff, but there is still not much wind, and not much all day, so it makes me wonder why the Media insist of calling this event a "Wintery Blast" !!! Where or have there been strong winds with this event? Evidence of the calmish conditions is shown by the snow settling on the branches of our trees. At 1030pm it was minus 0.1C here with 1.5cm of snow on top of my Stevenson's Screen.
JohnGaul
NZTS
I notice there is a large and beautiful cluster of unstable Cb forms in the Tasman Sea moving up the West Coast and also in a semi-circle heading towards Auckland. I also notice that some are sneaking up the Otago Coast as well.
It's still snowing here but very lightly like dandruff, but there is still not much wind, and not much all day, so it makes me wonder why the Media insist of calling this event a "Wintery Blast" !!! Where or have there been strong winds with this event? Evidence of the calmish conditions is shown by the snow settling on the branches of our trees. At 1030pm it was minus 0.1C here with 1.5cm of snow on top of my Stevenson's Screen.
JohnGaul
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Well they(Media and metservice) are mostly in Wellington and they hardly had any "winter" as such and its such a change for them wheres up here its just the usual winter rain,wind blah blah we get all the time.NZ Thunderstorm Soc wrote:I admit I am wrong regarding this event a Fizzer as I am picking up sferics as I type.so it makes me wonder why the Media insist of calling this event a "Wintery Blast" !!! Where or have there been strong winds with this event? JohnGaul
NZTS
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This high pressure looks like its going to be a fizzer-looks like we may get some Bee Bop(Sunny&windy with quite fast moving cumulus) weather in the afternoon tomorrow and clear overnight Sunday then the forecast of high dominating the weather Mon&Tues) all changed back to a SW for us
and a temporary southerly in the east.
Even the high itself has moved north over Australia and it probably be centred above Norfolk Island on Tuesday with a piddly 1015Hpa pressure

Even the high itself has moved north over Australia and it probably be centred above Norfolk Island on Tuesday with a piddly 1015Hpa pressure
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