Sept 4th Canterbury Thunderstorms

[Nev]

Check out these amazing pics by Aaron Campbell Photography on facebook.
(also posted on TVNZ's photo-gallery)


Also, the graphic below was posted by MS on http://www.facebook.com/MetService this morn...

There were 140 cloud to ground strikes within 150km of Cathedral Square ending at 9.18pm last night!

[moylanr]

Unforecastable more than about an hour or maybe two ahead.

That fits my theory that you would have mentioned it if it were possible to forecast such "excitement".

[TonyT]

Unforecastable more than about an hour or maybe two ahead.

That fits my theory that you would have mentioned it if it were possible to forecast such "excitement".

We do have a few Chch infrastructure clients who get a weather risk management forecast specifically prepared for them every day, and there was mention of possible thunderstorms with hail in those forecasts, but I didnt have anything in mind of the scale which eventually developed!

[rjd]

What happened was extreme. No one predicts for freaks like that.

[jamie]

yea sounds like it was unpredictable, however it was certainly warnable (is that even a word?)

[Thunder]

There was definately a period late afternoon / evening where potentially something could happen but to the extent it did was a hard one.

Did an interview with TVNZ and gave them footage plus photo's so might see something on the news tonight, don't know how much or if they'll use anything. Will see.....

Cheers
Aaron

[dogmelon]

I like Mike's photo showing the twist in the storm. It looks like one of those LP Supercells you see in storm chaser videos. Could it be one of those LP things? I've read that they tend to have mainly in-cloud lightning and a lack of CG's which is what I observed last evening. Anyway, it was really exciting.

[mikestormchaser]

Will be very interesting to see Aaron if it does get on the news then, i will be highly proud as i was right beside u on that chase lol shame none of my footage would get on there aswel

[Storm Struck]

Fantastic photos Katipo would like to know what you used to capture those CG's, the first one which has a split double CG is actually a +CG ( a bolt that comes out on the outside or ahead of the storm).
Try and narrow that photo down if you can, i wonder where those CG's struck cant of been the trees at Hagley Park as thats sorta abit more west on the photos.

Wispers looks whats in the models for Sunday potential thunder and hail set up again so once ive got last nights footage etc sorted the batteries will be on charge again.
I will post some stills etc later on.

[bmo]

Here's my video of the lightning http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmIbK1Ijarg

[CHCH Weather Chaser]

This photo was taken from Halswell last night. It has been posted on Mike Yardley from Newstalk ZB Facebook. I will post some shots I got last night when following it around the city. Gold ball size hail captured included.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fb ... 229&type=1

[NZstorm]

yea sounds like it was unpredictable, however it was certainly warnable (is that even a word?)

The time of the year was the tricky aspect for this set up. The powerful jet stream moving onto the South Island was the severe weather trigger.

[CHCH Weather Chaser]

ya made the news Aaron! Mikey, heard you in the background saying "wow a CG!' haha. Your famous moment in the spotlight!

[Tornado Tim]

Watched both articles on ones news and 3news.
Good on ya Aaron

3News's segment got Dan Corbet's take on the storm for reference.

[Thunder]

My hair was a bit messy, lol. Cheers guys. I said some slightly more technical weather speak but they always cut these interviews down to like a 4 second bit then it's gone. Better then nothing!

Cheers
Aaron

[Lacertae]

A shame I never watch TV, I'd be curious to see you there. Anyone recorded this moment of fame ?

Meanwhile I have put together whichever shots could act as surrogate for a time-lapse movie showing 4 sets of strikes over a period of 10 minutes with the SW moving things around, and the second one showing the "wrapping" of clouds around the updraft of the cell which passed over Mike and Aaron's heads, and dissolving (?) of it over a period of 16 minutes. The shots were never intended to be used to make a time-lapse movie, hence the changes in light levels and orientation of the camera.
In the future I could crop and process them all in order to get the best out of these videos but with 25 shots in the first vid and 48 shots in the second one it's quite a task ... my computer is already on its knees processing shots out of my D800E ...

http://alpha-nz.net/PhNZ/Strike_me.mov
http://alpha-nz.net/PhNZ/Spin_me.mov

[Storm Struck]

Yes i caught the news good stuff Aaron, i thought someone might be in touch with one of us from the website today.
I am slowly working on what i got will post a teaser for now, i did post this one on my facebook but its crap streaming unless its added via you tube link.
Not too bad considering i didnt have night vision switched on, there was just enough daylight and the city/airport lights to keep the camera happy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1WTOCUb ... ture=g-upl

IMG_0112 (800x450).jpg

IMG_0114 (800x450).jpg

Just edited the size of those stills abit too big.

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

Very good photos and videos to all of those who put their recordings of last evening's thunderstorm over ChCh.
It just shows you how recordings of such events have increased over the years since Bob and I had and recorded NZThS events in the 1990s.
This storm did come up as a bit of a surprise as this situation did develop unaware of forecasters despite their forecast of thunderstorms for Canterbury.
I didn't have an inclination that anything would happen as it didn't look all that 'crucial' enough.
I use the word crucial to indicate obvious Canterbury thunderstorm activity, ie. the words in the forecast 'disturbed Sw flow', an obvious NE onflow,postioning of anticyclone to the north,upper cold air movement.
...but anyway it happened and may be the first of the Spring and Summer to come.
Good to see Aaron on the news. good stuff, as you said, they only limit to a 4 second or so slot for the news so you have to condense as much as you can say in that slot. I found out that when they used to interview me.

[dogmelon]

Does anyone think that the thunderstorm was an actual "supercell" or is that not possible in NZ. That could be our one storm for the next 20 years or we could get one next week so here's hoping.

[03Stormchaser]

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/freak-s ... eo-5065123
TV1 news clip from tonight, time for a haircut Aaron?

[Michael]

An event least more interesting news than the sept 4 earthquake

[Lacertae]

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/freak-s ... eo-5065123
TV1 news clip from tonight, time for a haircut Aaron?

Maaaaaaan, everyone's gonna think storm chasers are nerdy unshowered unshaved geeks living on cold pizza in front of 3 monitors or whatever !
Time to bring the "s" of "sexy" in storm chasers meh thinks ...

[Storm Struck]

This single hail stone here, am i right in thinking thats bigger than golf ball maybe close to Tennis Ball?
http://images.trademe.co.nz/photoserver ... 7_full.jpg

Also i would like to get some more information on the area affected by roofs lifting which was apparently Hornby, i havnt seen any photos around of the damage so we can decide whether it was a tornado or just a downdraft.

[Tornado Tim]

Does anyone think that the thunderstorm was an actual "supercell" or is that not possible in NZ. That could be our one storm for the next 20 years or we could get one next week so here's hoping.

Hmm I am not sure if it was a classic form of supercell as it needed to have lasted over an hour to be classified as such.
However due to the size of the hail, I do think it was a Supercell but not a typical one. There is an element of twisting evident in the updraft going by pictures and time-lapse photography to support this.

Supercells even though they are fairly uncommon in Canterbury, they are more likely to develop there than any place else in the country based on what has been recorded previously. There have been a fair few over the past 1.5 decades where glass houses where completely obliterated and orchards loosing thousands in lost fruit. John should be able to fill you in on those occasions

[dogmelon]

Thank you for that information Tim. It was an amazing thunderstorm at any rate and that loud thumping of the falling hail stones was alarming and is a sound not soon forgotten.