System - 19th- 20th Dec

[CHCH Weather Chaser]

Around 24 hours about before an interesting system moves in and could bring some very decent rain to Canterbury and Christchurch City. GFS model suggests over 50mm from the system and Metservice say heavy falls south of the Waimakariri....The metservice 7 day maps show good intensity rain as well. I want to play cricket sat but i dont mind not playing long as the rain is heavy and decent! Forget any of the drizzly rubbish.

[Ryan Thomas]

Oh what great weather for my friends 18th..When are the warm days coming??

[Storm Struck]

Some welcome totals of rain coming indeed after the 6mm of the last two days, although some of that will possibly dry up today.
There wont be much in the way of thundery activity with this system for Canterbury though, mainly on the west coast and maybe something about the Foothills on Sunday afternoon, provided some heating breaks through.
You wouldnt even think it rained yesterday as its nice and sunny on 21C now, i didnt feel the earthquakes which were centred in Hanmer this morning at 4.8 and 4.1 on the scale too deep perhaps.
Cheers
Jason.

[Ryan Thomas]

"50 to 80m extending to 20 kilometres east of the Divide" Part of the metservice warning... And they were really shallow earthquakes. Bring on the rain I guess.

[Nev]

WOW !!! 3 separate, significant, seismic-events within 1.5 hours this morn...

8:55am -- Mag 4.9 -- 12km deep - 10km N of Hanmer Springs
9:12am -- Mag 4.1 -- 10km deep - Within 5km N of Hanmer Springs
9:33am -- Mag 5.8 - 130km deep - 80km NE of White Island
10:18am - Mag 4.7 -- 60km deep - 50 km E of Taupo

Don't see that every day!

EDIT: Did anyone notice any unusual 'earthquake-weather' type of clouds in the last day or two around Hanmer Springs?

[gllitz]

WOW !!! 3 separate, significant, seismic-events within 1.5 hours this morn...

8:55am -- Mag 4.9 -- 12km deep - 10km N of Hanmer Springs
9:12am -- Mag 4.1 -- 10km deep - Within 5km N of Hanmer Springs
9:33am -- Mag 5.8 - 130km deep - 80km NE of White Island
10:18am - Mag 4.7 -- 60km deep - 50 km E of Taupo

Don't see that every day!

Yeah, felt the first one...was at work in downtown and could feel things sway, but only briefly...didn't feel the second one, although looking at GeoNet at the time showed another one...pretty freaky...but all still a blink of an eye, if that, on the geological scale.

[Tornado Tim]

Looking at the LI and Cape levels this system coming will produce quite a bit of t-storms if it does not die.

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

I doubt it but i like to be prooved wrong.
Regarding the earthquakes, please keep to the topic at hand and place non weather related comments in the relevant section on this forum.
Thankyou.

JohnGaul
NZThS

[rawdon]

looks like some decent rain to measure here in Upper Hutt ..from late Friday onwards. Gave my 5 inch Met Service standard rain gauge a good overhaul today after some months of neglect!!! We will see what happens this weekend.

cheers
Steve
Upper Hutt

[Nev]

Regarding the earthquakes, please keep to the topic at hand and place non weather related comments in the relevant section on this forum.
Thankyou.

Sorry John, yes a "Significant Seismic Events" thread might be a good idea - perhaps for 2009 though. We could also have a thread on "Text Acronyms" - you could get the ball rolling John with a few comments on the meaning of "LOL"?

P.S. I've edited my last post to bring it more in-line with this discussion.

[carrot]

It's raining! Yay. I believe it's related to the seismic activity yesterday in Hanmer

[CHCH Weather Chaser]

Wow, what an antilimax, rain band moving very quickly out to sea, high cloud about now. No rain. Just 2mm here

[Storm Struck]

I didnt expect the rain to clear at all, only 2mm here this morning before clearing off completely around 11am.
Fine and dry now although i see some heavy showers developing around Canterbury now.
I think this may have been the pre frontal cloud bringing the rain this morning, because the main warm front was still sitting on the west coast at 1pm.
Which means the rain should return in a few hours and become heavy.
Must be some sheltering going on with the Alps at the moment just because there is heavy rain on the west coast, which will cross very soon as i say.
Interesting yesterday evening around 6pm a NW breeze kicked in, i am not quite sure why that was because it wasnt raining on the west coast or in the alps at the time.
Then a SW change came through around 11pm, most likely because of the heated land etc.
Edit. Humid type fast CU development around now with black skies to the west, fascinating the watch the CU is moving about as fast as the low cloud coming across.
20C now with an onshore NE.
Cheers
Jason.

[CHCH Weather Chaser]

Thought somehting was building on 6pm but went away real quick again. I'm very disappointed so far. Nothing at all really, infact some blue sky to be seen.

[spwill]

Best of the rain has been in the West near the divide, some thunderstorms there. Plenty of active rain cloud up stream in the Tasman currently.

Drying out here again with the warm dry weather we have been having of late.

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

Looks like a thunderstorm free summer here in Canterbury looming sadly folks

JohnGaul
NZThS

[Razor]

lovely afternoon in ChCh after a wee couple of mils of rain this morning to keep the garden veges happy. Beautiful summer here so far, enjoy it everyone and get out into it!

[David]

I guess now that you've mentioned it John, if you're right all the Cantabrians have someone to blame now...

December has been quite (unusually) convectively stable here in the north too...hope it doesn't turn out like last summer...

[Tornado Tim]

I dont get it, I have only encountered 2 t-storms and thats it.
I blame no southerly coming in!!!

[carrot]

I haven't heard thunder for about..hmmm.. the whole year? Well, seems like it!

[Storm Struck]

Yes what happened to the days when we would get the good old Souterly buster storms roll straight through Canterbury and none of this offshore clipping Banks Peninnsula stuff.
I remember around 1998-2004 we got loads of thunderstorms around the 20th Dec to early January, sometimes up to 4-5 days in a row.
Best thing we can do is look forward to a new year and hope 2009 comes to fruiton, atleast we had 2-3 snowfall days this year thats something.
Anyway back on topic most of the showers about this afternoon/evening have been more inland, although i have had a few spots every now and then.
Tomorrow looks like its the pick for Canterbury to get a soaking, especially from midday onwards of which the farmers will be pleased with for an early xmas gift.
Cheers
Jason.

[CHCH Weather Chaser]

Very Still conditions outside at the moment and the wind (if any) is now from the SW. Still no signs of anything significant to hit us. The way it has been going cricket might be on tomorrow for me! If it does rain though it better pour down. See there is heavy rain warning in place for Foothills with snow settling to 1200m. Be good if we could get 40mm plus or so here tomorrow, not holding my breath if today was anything to go by.

[Kimkliff]

Starting raining real good around 4.30 yesterday and hasn't stopped. Emptied rain guage half hour ago with a 28mm total. Got 20mm last Tue/Wed as well, so things on the farm looking a little better. Xmas party tomorrow night so lets hope Sunday dries up a bit

[Gary McConnochie]

Hi Kimkliff

Pardon my ignorance but where is Kimberly? I thought i new where most places were in Canterbury.

Nice steady rain here in Rolleston.

[Kimkliff]

Kimberley is west of Christchurch on south bank of Waimakariri River, approx 7 kms before Waddington/Sheffield and 7 kms back to Darfield along Kimberley Road. School closed in 1957, church was converted to a home, then burnt down coupla years back, tennis courts pretty dismal, and a hall that local students use each year for the after formal party! That's it really, Blink and you will miss it