Thunderstorms 4th Feb

[NZstorm]

Yes, quite an active thunderstorm line inland BOP. Its elevated hilly terrain from Toupo to Rotorua and that would help the instability. The Met Service modelling has handled this situation quite well.

[ricky]

looks like 15mm in the last 20mins or so rainfall in rotorua and just heard a file call to a tree split by lightning!

[NZstorm]

They have had hail there too as David suggested.

[TokWW]

Its been very hot this morning through to a calm hot evening, my station stopped recording at 11 am so i don't have the high here in Tok today but my friend's one recorded 32.7 - about normal for this last week. Clouds have been building this afternoon but quite independently and scattered. Temps at home now are 21.5 / 15.1, more comfortable than other times - but still too warm aloft... Haven't heard any thunder or had any rain in Tokoroa today...

Graeme

[David]

Wow, did the Rotorua webcam just capture an in-cloud lightning flash?
I was just on the site, the web cam image was dark (apart from the street light), the next minute it was lit up a bit (blue). And I know at this time the sky should be completely dark...

webimage.jpg

Check out the image 3 mins later

webimage2.jpg

It was lightning!

[Manukau heads obs]

I see the Rotorua station has recorded 35mm very quickly!
http://geyserlandobservatory.org/weather/weather.html

[ricky]

Wow, did the Rotorua webcam just capture an in-cloud lightning flash?

yep I would say so best I ever managed to get was some fireworks going off over the city

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

Nice to see the central North Island well central NZ getting thunderstorms today after a spell of nothing really happening with the weather. Much cooler down here in the south with the southerly and a lower fetched anticyclone moving in.

JohnGaul
NZTS

[Storm Struck]

Good to hear of thunderstorms in the NI today and upper SI, pitty nobody lives in the areas where the cells were today.
Could have been a good thunderstorm here on the windchange even if it had came from 10am onwards provided sunshine beforehand.
I noticed at about 8am out at sea in Pegasus bay it was really black with some mamatus forms, so some early morning instability there.
About 5mm of light rain drizzle here compared to areas from Parklands- the Port hills which had hardly anything infact rather dry.
This possibly because of a sheltering affect from Banks Penninsula in the cooler S-SE flow.
Cheers
Jason.

[David]

Tarawera scored the maximum intensity, over 45mm fell in one hour yesterday evening. Its a pity the convective band hadn't moved a bit further east, it got Coromandel but missed Auckland altogether.

[jamie]

Parts of south hamilton got about 4mm and we got nothing here

There must have been a bit of surface flooding around last night under those thunderstorms.

[Manukau heads obs]

a couple of CB's visible way to my SW...moving in this general direction,,,,on a frontal line that crosses the waikato too.

[NZstorm]

Yes, can see t/cu and cb to SW over western Waikato. The last of the instability that came in overnight. It should weaken off and disappear within the next couple of hours as the dewpoints are dropping.

[Vertigo]

yes i saw those when i went on my daily morning jaunt up one tree hill!
how far away were they?

[Thunder]

Storms! Glorious storms! Ohhhhh it has been long. Good to see some stuff up north.

Talking to Bob Crowder he assured me this is the norm, so it's only up from here! Bring on 08/09 storm season. lol.

Cheers
Aaron

[Manukau heads obs]

ps
you can see yesterdays CB's over auckland in my yesterday web cam movie here:
http://www.weather-display.com/windy/gb ... yvideo.htm

[Vertigo]

just an observation - is it normal for the high level jetstream to be flowing in a direction completely opposite to the lower level winds?

[Manukau heads obs]

yes that can happen, and occurs alot over the north tasman/coral sea, in SE trade winds
what you are looking at there in the movie is the high level outflow tail of TC Gene

[spwill]

Excellent web cam movie Brian.
The showers missed here yesterday.

Sunny 24C here now with comfortible 12C dewpoints.

[Manukau heads obs]

with comfortible 12C dewpoints.

yes, will be able to sleep much better now for the next few nights!

[tich]

Rotorua obviously got a thunderstorm - reminds of a storm there in Feb 1990, when after a very hot, humid and mostly sunny day (about 30C max?) a cool southeasterly change arrived late afternnoon. This resulted in a thunderstorm and massive downpour with widespread surface flooding in the city.

[Willoughby]

Was in Pakiri last night, and could only see one Cb all day in the direction of Auckland. It glaciated pretty quickly and died almost as quick too. Some cumulus developed along a line towards the north there but nothing came out of it really. Beautiful afternoon heading south through Auckland today.