Unstable air to start the year?/Canterbury Thunderstorm

[mikestormchaser]

An amazing storm here, i was at the cricket ground, had about 5 overs of play before they cancelled it due to sporadic rain and hail!!
Then standing outside for about an hour watching this huge cell come up was just amazing! awesome lightning!
As we were just leaving the ground, one the bolts also hit the lights of AMI stadium, never heard a crackle like it before.
Surface flooding right down Moorhouse ave and into Lincoln road and at a guess hail size of 15mm in diameter

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

Back on line again.
Had to switch the computer off because we have just had the best thunderstorm ever, well, since we have been here at this location in West Melton.
Continuous lightning and thunder for about 50 minutes or so.
Some very close CG strikes.
There was so much thunder and lightning that I was starting to get bored, well not really.
Hail fell the size of small marbles so we were lucky but the rain was heavy. Haven't measured it yet but will be in Weather Blog report.
I was quite sure of something eventuating today.

JohnGaul
NZThS

[jamie]

4pm metservice radar shows a few pixels of light green (save the image then zoom in as far as possible). I have never seen rain get to that point on the scale. Must be some good sized hail in it.

[Myself]

All models going for it I think. Looks like pushing in tomorrow, and lingering for the whole week, with occasional troughy incursions for the South Island. North of 40S though, looks like a superb week on the way.

http://www.ecmwf.int/products/forecasts ... 2009010212!!/

If that's a low of subtropical origin the ECMWF should tone it down over the next few runs, as it always overdoes these things initially. The UKMO seems to want something forming, but it does not have as much impact, and follows it with quick ridging from the west again anyway.

[Ryan Thomas]

Best storm in ages, constant thunder. Ended up looking out west and seeing brilliant lightning.

[mikestormchaser]

Oh yeah i agree, i swear that that rain was like moonsoonal probably like 40mm per hour

[spwill]

Myself wrote

ECMWF should tone it down over the next few runs

Agree, but there has been a trend last 48hrs for troughing onto northern NZ later in the week, we will see.


Good looking storms eastern SI today We missed out here but I see there was a storm just east of Auckland City

[Lacertae]

I am soooooo disappointed ... I intended to drive north of the city to see and shoot anything coming from the south or the west, but needed to go to the supermarket in St Martins prior to the chase. And that bloody t-storm decide to blow just when I reach the hills and stuck on the wrong side of the city !
Of course it was far too late for me to drive north through the city and I don't have any shot of anything ...

[Storm Struck]

Kiaora folks just come back from Karamea in time, we had thunder and heavy rain last night up there which was rather cool.
Then to come back to the best thunderstorm i have seen in atleast 5 years, no other words could explain it but enormous and vicous looking.
The amount of constant thunder and lightning was incrediable out this way.
About five minutes before the storm hit the sky turned pitch blacky green colour indictating decent sized hail.
Southerly wasnt overly strong but we had small hail for quite some time with pea sized stones mixed in.
I recorded the storm on video for up to 42 minutes long which is the longest and best storm i have recorded since i got the camera in 2004.
10mm here from the storm with some pitted lettuce leaves apart from that not too bad.
Photo's later.
Cheers
Jason.

[NZstorm]

Looks like a lot of lightning activity out to sea east of Auckland atm. (Hauraki Gulf/Gt Barrier Island).

Interesting reports from Christchurch this afternoon.

[Manukau heads obs]

way to go CHCH!
lucky buggers!

yes, big cb blow up occured in the hauraki gulf alright....the land must have been the initial trigger? (Warkworth etc)

[kiwisk8er]

Saw that the storm I mentioned earlier to the west of Dunedin spawned a tornado (saw the picture on TV3 news) in Waikouaiti. The picture taken is 2 minutes, 13 seconds into the broadcast.

http://www.3news.co.nz/Unseasonal-weath ... fault.aspx

[Nev]

Looks like a lot of lightning activity out to sea east of Auckland atm. (Hauraki Gulf/Gt Barrier Island).

Didn't see or hear much from here - just that initial heavy downpour just before 4pm that eased off not long after (6.7mm).

[Vertigo]

well isnt that typical for auckland.. lightning active till it approaches the waitaks, then fires up again once it meets the hauraki gulf

[Storm Struck]

Well here goes for the photos of our first thunderstorm of 2009 and for the season.
Its actually the first time since about early 2004 that a decent storm has rolled straight overhead, and even then i dont think i can recall anything with so much lightning so frequent since new years eve coming into 2001.
A truly magical storm mainly by structure and how vicous it actually looked, and of course as i mentioned the lightning count per every seven seconds sometimes up to 3-4 bolts overhead.
Not sure if its died down yet but when i checked the tracker at 6:30pm it was still firing away further north in Pegasus Bay.
Now for the first weather photo's of 2009 enjoy .
Cheers
Jason.

Karamea + 3rd Jan 09 T storm 019.JPG

Karamea + 3rd Jan 09 T storm 020.JPG

Karamea + 3rd Jan 09 T storm 021.JPG

Karamea + 3rd Jan 09 T storm 022.JPG

Karamea + 3rd Jan 09 T storm 024.JPG

[Storm Struck]

Here comes the storm .
Cheers
Jason.

Karamea + 3rd Jan 09 T storm 023.JPG

Karamea + 3rd Jan 09 T storm 025.JPG

Karamea + 3rd Jan 09 T storm 026.JPG

Karamea + 3rd Jan 09 T storm 027.JPG

[Tornado Tim]

Adding to the photo collection of this unstable air.....
Taken just now this amazing rich red/orange sunset over Matangi quite incredible!

[tich]

Thunderstorm hit while I was in Chch Airport departure lounge - lots of lightning (other noises drowned out much thunder) and a spell of heavy (up to small pea size) hail. Delayed my flight by 30 minutes. Some much lighter rain in Auckland, and looks like it's staring to clear.

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

Just gone through my pictures of today and nothing much photographical, sadly.
Even the video shots never captured any lightning
...but I hope that there were others who may have got a good shot.
03 Stormchaser and Steven Graham, where were you?

JohnGaul
NZThS

[tich]

Just getting another shower where I am (Te Atatu), so perhaps not clearing just yet.

[David]

A few lightning flashes just observed to my NE in the last 10minutes with a distant rumble of thunder heard. Look at the radar loop - this CB developed almost instantly over the Hauraki Gulf because there was no rain here.

[Inny Binny]

Was at Akaroa when it hit - don't think we got quite as much thunder/lightning as Chch but the rain and hail were insane. Just sat outside the shop eating an icecream while the paths were flooding and the lightning flashing.

[Lacertae]

When I said I didn't come back with anything I was expressing my frustration ... 'cause actually I kept chasing even though I knew I was too late to capture some pictures of the "monster". After all, there are a lot of things happening when you are under a t-storm !

So here is my only picture of a fork lighting (over Woolston or Beckenham probably) just before the hail started to smash my head and my camera ... Sorry for the quality but it's a frame out of 20 minutes of video, all the other forks being just on the side of where I was filming ...

03-01-09-02.jpg

And prior to this and the begining of the t-storm over the garden city I was south of Halswell and didn't know nor understand that this structure was the t-storm coming from the south-west on the left-hand side of the image !

pan-03-01-09.jpg

But apart from those 2 pics and the one from this morning, nothing very exciting unfortunately ...
At least a good lesson for my next chase : check the wind !

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

...at least you got something there, Ben.
Good shot

JohnGaul
NZThS

[Storm Struck]

Just recording todays storm onto video and re evaluating it, i counted 83 thunder rumbles and 31 lighting bolts and flashes which pretty much sums up how good it was out this way.
One part near the start has about atleast 8 minutes of continuos thunder rumbling with flashes inbetween , great video for the next weather meeting.
I believe 03stormchaser is still away on holiday john not sure about steven, lucky i picked the right day to come home.
Oh yeh great shot of the CG there Lacertae
Cheers
Jason.