Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

[Andrew Massie]

Get a room you guys. Seriously.

[NZstorm]

Yes, saw the snow on TV last night. Straith Taieri got a good dumping. That region is fully exposed to the southerly flows. Big big fall for mid May.

Grey overcast morning in Auckland with frequent shower activity. I think a front was slow moving across the area.
Temperature only 11C! Too cool for any interesting weather. The GFS forecast I posted above was based on surface temps of 14-15C occuring.

[melja]

Looks like the central MacKenzie was the only area of high country to escape this one then. Although Roundhill in the Two Thumb Range (right by Lake Tekapo) has copped a fair bit. Good snowfall down to the valley floor at Mt Cook. Snow down to 3-400m here in Dunedin, looks to be very heavy up Flagstaff.

Mt Hutt now have well in excess of a metre of snow on the ground. Southern Lakes fields have recieved 30 - 50 cm from this system at this stage.

Saturday is looking interesting (although a long way out), for a much heavier fall in the Central/Western Alps and Fiordland.

As far as I have heard, up to 10 cm down to 100 or so metres in Southland. Will have more details by the end of the day.

I thought Gary wasn't coming back? haha

No signs of a real nor'wester for a while... no doubt we will see one at some stage.

I think you will find there is a good old NW blow coming at the end of the week, 2 or 3 days .

[Razor]

Well I found PLENTY of snow this weekend from the Routeburn to Kakanui

[NZstorm]

Todays Auckland sounding. NZWP00Z. Surface temp for this was 12.1C.

There has been a lot of lightning in the Bay of Plenty last couple of hrs.

[NZstorm]

Great photos Razor.

[Philip Duncan]

Huge hail storm in Papamoa today - also reports of water spouts in the area plus another photo from the NZ Herald of a funnel cloud at Shelly Beach north of Auckland.

http://www.weatherwatch.co.nz/content/h ... bay-plenty

[southernthrash]

Looks like the central MacKenzie was the only area of high country to escape this one then. Although Roundhill in the Two Thumb Range (right by Lake Tekapo) has copped a fair bit. Good snowfall down to the valley floor at Mt Cook. Snow down to 3-400m here in Dunedin, looks to be very heavy up Flagstaff.

Mt Hutt now have well in excess of a metre of snow on the ground. Southern Lakes fields have recieved 30 - 50 cm from this system at this stage.

Saturday is looking interesting (although a long way out), for a much heavier fall in the Central/Western Alps and Fiordland.

As far as I have heard, up to 10 cm down to 100 or so metres in Southland. Will have more details by the end of the day.

I thought Gary wasn't coming back? haha

No signs of a real nor'wester for a while... no doubt we will see one at some stage.

I think you will find there is a good old NW blow coming at the end of the week, 2 or 3 days .

More of a disturbed westerly flow. Not looking like a big foehn generator at this stage (relatively speaking), and fairly shortlived before the 540 line crawls northward once more - will be a much higher precipitation event...

[Storm Struck]

Incrediable photo's on weather watch site thats alot of hail on the ground looks like snow, and to last more than 40 minutes thats crazy longest hailstorm here ever was probly 15 minutes.
Insurance claims will be up from that storm for sure, with hail that large it wouldnt surprise me if there was a tornado somewhere hence the waterspouts offshore.

Back down here its a clear calm sunny day, just goes to show what happens when the low drags the isobaric flow away from Canterbury.
Still its not finished with us yet as it will take a few more swipes as it gets shoved ahead of the next deep low system in the Tasman.
So still some showers maybe hail tomorrow and wednesday with snow showers to around 300-400m, and perhaps stronger winds too.
Thursdays first attempt at heavy rain through the west coast and alps might bring the snow levels down through there just because it will be so cold with the snow around.
Cheers
Jason.

[Tornado Tim]

That must have been a pretty intense CB to make that amount of hail!
Baro at 990.2mb and dropping, the low must be centralizing it self over the NI now

[CHCH Weather Chaser]

My thoughts exactly Jason. Metservice interestingly do not even have the risk of a shower for the Canterbury region at the moment, maps and models definately suggest showery weather for Tuesday and Wednesday. Very good blanket on MT herbert (the one u can see out the back of the port hills) its not just a dusting its a thick coating on that bit.

[mattyj46]

Very nice looking Waterspout on Weatherwatch.co.nz

[Vertigo]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic ... d=10571661

thats a major tornado. good thing it stayed out to sea!

[RWood]

LOL no not Gary.

What the thing is that when you grow up with the snow you know what a pain it is. Only the townies who come and play in it for a few days think its wonderful. They dont have to live with it and drive through it and track it through the house. To the townies it is oh so lovelyand magical but to us people who are born and bred with the stuff it is just a bloody nusance.

Ha ha - you can always tell who the townie snow tourists are. They are the people who drive around with snow on there cars and camper vans because they think it makes them look like mountain men!! The rest of us clean it off our cars first before we drive them!

If you've lived in cities where winter snow is a regular event, the novelty wears off very quickly. Tekapo is in a beautiful region, and I'd like to be able to spend a lot more time there, but I could skip the snowiest days.

[Manukau heads obs]

amazing stuff!, re Papamoa
something big had to happen , there was alot of potential there!
very nice circulation of the low centre showing up on the NP rain radar!

[Nev]

Also a pic of the Warkworth tornado at about 1pm today - 'Tornado sweeps through Warkworth'.

And more updated info in this story - 'Wild weather hits North'.

[Tornado Tim]

The news at 4.30 called it a "Mini Tornado" Can the metservice please tell the media not call it that...

[David]

Again, an uninteresting fairly cool day with some showers. 3.5mm at home since 8am but I think there would have been more than that at uni (in the city) today. High here was 13.6°

[NZstorm]

The dynamics were there today, pity Auckland missed out. I knew somewhere was going to get hit but its difficult to say where in advance. I notice a new thunderstorm has developed over western BOP last hr. Great links Philip and Nev. And well done to the Met Service for forecasting the tornadoes.

[Philip Duncan]

Thanks Steven, one of the busiest days I've ever had - so many amazing photos sent in to us. That waterspout is amazing!

I also noticed that secondary wave moving through western BoP and also a heavy band of rain towards Whakatane. That blob north west of Auckland may well give Aucklanders a taste (finally) of this system. But as all of us Aucklanders know, anything can happen between there and here!

[jamie]

ahhhhhh they arent mini !!!!!!! that one north of auckland they are calling mini is a good sized tornado!!!
How about those water spouts? totaly huge and amazing. i noticed the lightning trackers going nuts on the BOP but didnt realise that was happening. crazy stuff and amazing pictures.

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

Should be a good frost overnight, down to 1.1C at 6pm.

JohnGaul
NZThS

[Myself]

What the thing is that when you grow up with the snow you know what a pain it is. Only the townies who come and play in it for a few days think its wonderful. They dont have to live with it and drive through it and track it through the house. To the townies it is oh so lovelyand magical but to us people who are born and bred with the stuff it is just a bloody nusance.

Ha ha - you can always tell who the townie snow tourists are. They are the people who drive around with snow on there cars and camper vans because they think it makes them look like mountain men!! The rest of us clean it off our cars first before we drive them!

Jeez, you're in New Zealand, you make it sound like Canada. Even though you may be in the High Country, it really isn't that much of a snowy place.

[Manukau heads obs]

looking at the different photos of the waterspout of papamoa, I would say it has to rate as one of the strongest /largest seen in NZ?

[Vertigo]

agreed brian - it was massive!