Frosts 2015

[Richard]

A lot of latent heat in water for it to transition states. If the airflow is greater it will freeze quicker, so my suggestion is that either the air flow around the pipe was greater when it froze, or it was down at that temperature longer. In any case, I'd encourage you to lag that pipe, suggesting you have been fortunate it hasn't split somewhere.

Its black Alkathene piping which handles frost quite well, i could lag it but haven't as its rarely freezes and when it does being on the east side of the house its back on no later than 10.00am, if it was steel pipe i would be asking for problems.

[jamie]

Frozen pipes have a lot to do with how long the water was sill for. I worked out the night before no one had a shower, the dish washer wasn't run and no one got up to the toilet in the night. So from about 9pm onwards the water was still.

It was just as cold today as yesterday but our water never froze. Dishwasher ran, I had a shower, the toilet was flushed.

I suspect mine froze not in the house but at the pump in the uninsulated garage.

[Richard]

Just hit -10deg ugh, just shows what a cold winter its been, only seen one occasion of -10 or colder in 15 years living here and here we have two mornings in a row, also this thread is up to 14 pages and we are only up to July yet all of 2014 10 pages

[Skywatcher]

It's been below freezing here since 10pm last night but only got down to -1.4C this morning.

[einzack]

Got to -6.2°C in Reefton this morning.
That matches the 2nd coldest temp I have recorded in the 4+ years. Thought was on the way for a station record (currently -6.4°C) but never quite got there.
Once again in the relatively balmy chch this weekend so missing out on all the fun.

[RichyDunedin]

Minus 8 in Mosgiel this morning which is the coldest for a few years at least. Not sure how cold the valleys around Dunedin have been but it would be similar. Ground hasn't thawed for a few days now.

[melja]

Touched -7 at mine this morning and was the coldest in the 9 years I've lived here. Many new houses had frozen water but our old one didn't, I think being un insulated helps as the warmth goes through the walls and roof.

[Razor]

Touched -7 at mine this morning and was the coldest in the 9 years I've lived here. Many new houses had frozen water but our old one didn't, I think being un insulated helps as the warmth goes through the walls and roof.

Amazing! 6 degrees colder than in town.

[melja]

Yeah was out Halswell area around 5am this morning and it was much warmer.
Lawn still white as out in the back yard at 1pm.

[cbm]

I noticed on Saturday morning that the Hamilton Airport reading was hovering around -3.5, dipped for just for a minute or two (one reporting period of the Metservice app) to -4.3, then came back to -3.5 odd again. Made me wonder how the ability of modern electronic recorders to respond to brief dips might differ from older mercury based min/max thermometers? Presume that has been studied as could potentially distort things when comparing new records to older ones.

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

Down to minus 3.6C this morning.

[Razor]

Steady easterly breeze here, as it has been all day. Really can't imagine how the forecast -5 could happen without a sudden change in conditions.

[Bradley]

Been wondering that all night Razor- they have the work experience kid on or are we missing something?

[TonyT]

Not sure how far north you need to go out of the city to find the frost, but its already below zero here in Amberley.

[Storm Struck]

I noticed this morning we were down to -4C in the city but 3C on Banks Penninsula, I thought it was odd until I seen the low cloud wafting over the hills just before 8am.
Explains why its 6C there currently and 1C in the city.

[Richard]

Not as cold this morning on -6.4deg

[kiwisk8er]

We got to -1.7 degrees in Tawa this morning. The Kapiti line trains are affected by the frost with the power lines zapping over head. A train journey lasting 1 minute between stations took 10 minutes this morning.

[Skywatcher]

Just 0.8C overnight and only a light frost on the grass but the pavements and driveways are white in exposed areas. I haven't seen that very often here.

[Orion]

-3.5degrees, and very white on footpath and driveway here also.

[Razor]

As expected, not cold for us at all in the southern suburbs, +3.4 minimum, no frost in central Christchurch as I ran to work

[melja]

-6 in Rangiora this morning, and there was a good frost in town on the north and west with the roads very bad.

[Nev]

Apparently Waiheke recorded an all time low of -4.6C on Sunday, according to NIWA's current observer based at Awaroa Valley in the island's sparsely populated geographical centre. Frozen water-pipes connected to their solar panels meant no hot showers. Observer records from that site go back to 1914.

Meanwhile in mainland Auckland, MS's Whenuapai Aero recorded -2.6C, -3.0C and -1.6C on Sat, Sun and Mon respectively, which isn't too unusual for that site. Ardmore Aero also recorded similar temps.

[David]

Apparently Waiheke recorded an all time low of -4.6C on Sunday, according to NIWA's current observer based at Awaroa Valley in the island's sparsely populated geographical centre. Frozen water-pipes connected to their solar panels meant no hot showers. Observer records from that site go back to 1914.

Meanwhile in mainland Auckland, MS's Whenuapai Aero recorded -2.6C, -3.0C and -1.6C on Sat, Sun and Mon respectively, which isn't too unusual for that site. Ardmore Aero also recorded similar temps.

Is that Waiheke reading likely to be accurate? That's pretty the same as the likes of Hamilton and Taupo got down to and they are far further inland.

Regarding whenuapai -3C, I saw an article somewhere that said it was the coldest morning there in 64 years. I guess that's not true then?

[Nev]

The Waiheke reading is electronic and sounds plausible, as it is in a fairly isolated sheltered basin. There were also some decent frosts in more populated inland parts of the island. It's quite exposed where I am currently though, so no frosts here.

Whenuapai Aero's -3.0C on Sunday is nowhere near a record. It's coldest temp on record was -4.9C in June 1951 from records going back to 1946 (records cease between 1993-2004).


Update: According to NIWA's July data for Waiheke, only -1.5C was recorded by the same Awaroa Valley observer on July 12. So not sure what the basis for that story in one of the local papers was?

[David]

Whenuapai Aero's -3.0C on Sunday is nowhere near a record. It's coldest temp on record was -4.9C in June 1951 from records going back to 1946 (records cease between 1993-2004).

But that -4.9 temperature was 64 years ago, so maybe the -3.0 could be the coldest since then