(Ex) Tropical Cyclone Pam effects on NZ

[Vertigo]

A good lesson for those new to the game as to how to read the various maps and models and how to interpret them, I suspect. Outstanding cyclone indeed at its peak, and it breaks my heart seeing the vanuatu people in such distress. Wish them well.

[Wildland]

GeoNet's tsunami gauges show the surges being recorded at various places on our coasts.

This snapshot, taken just after midnight, shows the disturbance recorded at Raoul, Gt Barrier and East Cape yesterday.

tsunamigauge20150317.png

The gauges now show disturbances at Castlepoint and increasing wave activity at the Chathams.

http://www.geonet.org.nz/tsunami/

[Dean.]

GeoNet's tsunami gauges show the surges being recorded at various places on our coasts.

This snapshot, taken just after midnight, shows the disturbance recorded at Raoul, Gt Barrier and East Cape yesterday.

tsunamigauge20150317.png

The gauges now show disturbances at Castlepoint and increasing wave activity at the Chathams.

http://www.geonet.org.nz/tsunami/

Interesting! I see it starting to affect the Canterbury coastline this morning as per Metservice forecasts.

[katipo]

The wind speed in the Chathams sure has been picking up around 80kph average at the moment & rising...

http://www.wunderground.com/history/sta ... story.html

[Willoughby]

Nice visible sat image at 11AM NZDT of Ex-Pam.

[03Stormchaser]

First photos from the Chathams.
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/first-d ... ds-6257255

[Orion]

Stupendous seas

[Willoughby]

A number of CGs being detected ENE of White Island.

[Manukau heads obs]

I could see those eastern BOP thunderstorms as I headed back from the coromandel
Talking to people over there, was one of the biggest storm surges and swell size since cyclone Gavin
A number of beaches had scollops washed up ..people were collecting bucket loads the next day when the swell had dropped at low tide
The increase in tide size from the storm surge was still evident the next day too (although the tides are getting bigger again now..but it was still up to like a spring tide level)
I was in the eastern coromandel the night of the closest past...was windy (branches blown off trees) and heavy rain
but probably no worse than a winter deep depression passing by

[Manukau heads obs]

If TC Pam had taken a track closer to the NI and was a bit later, and had met that tasman cold front earlier (which strengthened it as it approached the Chatham Islands (currently its 949hpa SE of there!)
then we could have had another Whahine storm!
NZ NI dodged a bullet, luckily!
Great though to get the rain here for the farmers/growers

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

Yes. I agree.

[Nev]

Quite a good summary from MS in their TC Pam blog here.

Below are a few rainfall and gust graphics for posterity…

Ex-TC Pam NZ 24-hr rain-maps.png

Ex-TC Pam NZ highest-rainfall map.png

Ex-TC Pam NZ highest-gust map.png

Some other gust speeds not included in their graphic are 115 km/h at White Island, 91 km/h at Purerua (Bay of Islands) and 89 km/h on the Whangaparaoa Peninsular.

[Manukau heads obs]

seems like the very closest spots to the center certainly got the outer edge of the wind field....
if it was just 50km closer would have been more damage inland

[ben g]

"the amplitude of the MJO set a new all-time record for the strongest MJO event observed since record keeping began in 1974"

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMa ... rynum=2938