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Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Mon 11/05/2009 23:09
by Dale
Speaking of mammatus.. the boss has just bounded out of bed to mention she took a couple of happy snappys before work this morning, of the line out towards Waiuku before it crossed over.
Approx 0730hrs.

(Photo has been sharpened slightly but very very close to actual viewing at the time.. I was still feeding 1 month old cockatiel chicks with a syringe so my eyes were still half in bed)

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Mon 11/05/2009 23:11
by tgsnoopy
No joy attaching images.

I give up.

Here's a teaser, approaching storm.

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Mon 11/05/2009 23:14
by Dale
Dayum! 8-o

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Tue 12/05/2009 00:27
by tgsnoopy
A couple of video's

From Kohi Point Lookout above Whakatane.

From Matata Beach looking out to sea East of Whakatane.

A couple of hail shots: 1 & 2.

Enough, I'm off to bed.

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Tue 12/05/2009 00:41
by Willoughby
Awesome videos Snoopy!! Love your work! :mrgreen:

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Tue 12/05/2009 01:37
by DT-NZ
Stormy cloudscapes taken yesterday afternoon between 1430 - 1530hrs.

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Tue 12/05/2009 06:45
by Michael
Not at all looking forward for the SW airstream behind the low.still calm.

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Tue 12/05/2009 07:18
by Chris Raine
One of those circulating lows has arived from the east and it has started to rain again , watched the cloud track down from the the Gisborne area in the last two days

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Tue 12/05/2009 07:38
by NZstorm
Great report Tgsnoopy.

Still some instability there today. Midday 500mb forecast temperature -28.4C for Auckland with Lifted Index -3.3. So theres still the chance of some thunder/hail today but the air will gradually stabilise this afternoon.

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Tue 12/05/2009 07:43
by jamie
awesome videos Tgsnoopy

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Tue 12/05/2009 07:45
by spwill
Spectacular weather, reports and photos from BOP yesterday :D . You could see towering Cu building over the eastern ranges mid morning from Auckland . I flew south to Queenstown late morning but Qtwn Airport was closed due to the weather so they took us to Chch. Spent last night at MtCook, lovely wintry scene down here.

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Tue 12/05/2009 07:54
by tgsnoopy
The video was filmed using my still camera in video mode. I've historically had no luck trying to capture lightning with still shots.

There was a photographer with me who was eating 2 Gig cards firing off 30 8 Mbit photo's a second. He used a lead to a large gell cell battery (12V 65AH at a guess) to power it. When the second wave of hail arrived and we departed for the cars, he left the tripod and battery outside in the rain where they were.

Now I'm thinking, why didn't I get a photo of that?

The video from Kohi Point was between 2 and 3pm and it was dark, really dark. The rumble of thunder continuous, but you couldn't even see the flash behind or through the clouds most of the time.

As for cold, what I would have done for gloves. Once back in the car I left the car running for heat and defogging purposes.

I'll probably go over the photo's tonight and attempt to attach any worthwhile. One of the first still's I took showed the darkness approaching, it was zoomed in on the Airport runway which had it's landing lights on. I haven't dug it out yet cause I'm not sure which card it's on. But at 18x optical zoom it may be blurry, fingers crossed it isn't, twas bitterly cold and quite windy up there.

It took two road sweeper trucks over 3 hours to seep the hail off the Ohope end of the Ohope to Whakatane road where the hail was worst.

A number of trees were hit by lightning and some branches fell damaging buildings and vehicles.

Lots of streets flooded in Whakatane from the downpour, not sure if hail blocked drains contributed or not.

It was a good day for storm watching. :)

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Tue 12/05/2009 08:00
by David
Nice CB in the sky just before but was so close this was the best shot I could get of it:

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Tue 12/05/2009 08:02
by Manukau heads obs
good stuff :)
more heavy rain here overnight, now 91mm for the month already

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Tue 12/05/2009 08:08
by Manukau heads obs
did anyone see the new Niwa front man (james renwick) on the tv1 beakfast show?
he missed alot of opurtunities to explain things
like when he was told about how people in tauranga thought it was like being in the eye of a hurricane as they could see winds going in different directions, but it was calm in the middle....and he just said that yes it can be calm in the middle...but I think he was missing the picture being explained, and refering to the middle of a low pressure system in general...not the middle of a CB!

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Tue 12/05/2009 08:18
by tgsnoopy
Just trying the attachment feature.

Fingers crossed you'll get a picture of Whakatane Airports runway with the storm fast approaching.

I'm amazed at how still I managed to hold the camera under the circumstances.
DSCF2014a.JPG

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Tue 12/05/2009 08:39
by TokWW
That huge zoom makes the runway looks so short! What an afternoon on the BOP coastline... wonder how well it was forecasted - I hadn't seen the TV forecast the night before and hadn't checked MS warnings if there were any...?

We never heard or saw anything over here in the Sth Waikato... :( Thanks for the vids and pic, can't watch the vids at work, no access to streaming data or YouTube website!!

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Tue 12/05/2009 08:46
by Manukau heads obs
m/s had lots of warnings and possible tornadoes

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Tue 12/05/2009 10:28
by TokWW
That's good - thanks.

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Tue 12/05/2009 11:53
by Tornado Tim
Lots of DTSH is happening, making heaps of Black Cb's around here.
Thunderstorms potential would be higher today than yesterday for Waikato.

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Tue 12/05/2009 12:47
by Manukau heads obs
a good CB heading towards auckland city at the moment
had a good solid rain free base on it as it passed over here

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Tue 12/05/2009 17:15
by Storm Struck
High cloud has been thickening here all afternoon, looks like a shower line coming up with a windshift to the WSW on the 5pm radar.
I guess this topic is nearing its end and it sure has been a mixed bag, snow,sleet,heavy rain,hail,thunderstorms,tornado's what more could you ask for in a complex of low systems.
This next low system looks to last awhile too with some good heavy rain in west of both islands and possible big gales out east, then getting colder into next week with showery weather and snow to low levels.
Cheers
Jason.

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Tue 12/05/2009 17:54
by DT-NZ
temps have dropped, cooler now, a light SW out there, moderate rain falling steadily, black out there, heard distant rumble out west about half an hour ago.

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Tue 12/05/2009 18:49
by NZ Thunderstorm Soc
Manukau heads observer wrote:did anyone see the new Niwa front man (james renwick) on the tv1 beakfast show?
he missed alot of opurtunities to explain things
like when he was told about how people in tauranga thought it was like being in the eye of a hurricane as they could see winds going in different directions, but it was calm in the middle....and he just said that yes it can be calm in the middle...but I think he was missing the picture being explained, and refering to the middle of a low pressure system in general...not the middle of a CB!

Yes I saw that. I didn't know who the guy was until the name appeared at the bottom of the screen.
Isn't he the MetSoc president?

JohnGaul
NZThS

Re: Major Low Pressure system - 8th to 12th May

Posted: Tue 12/05/2009 19:31
by Manukau heads obs
I see the local newspaper reports a house in Tuakau had roof and other property damage from a small tornado on saturday night (just after midnight)