Damaging winds 4/10/2015

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

Wind not as strong. now, as it was earlier this afternoon, well from 3:30pm, but remaining quite persistent.
Thank goodness the Screen never toppled again, mind you I had it quite secured.
Interesting cloud to the west. I see some thing coming up on the radar with the SW impact of this system moving east, also I see the Rakaia radar must of had some of the related wind-dust as interesting features on the imagery about the time of the wind blown dust came through.

[NZstorm]

We had a wicked thunderstorm blow through here on the arrival of the southerly. Strongest wind I've ever seen and lots of CGs. Seen a car crashed off a road and have a tree over the driveway.

We don't often see severe thunderstorm set ups in NZ but today's was a severe ts set up for wind.

[Razor]

Thunder reported in Mackenzie Basin according to Stuff article. Blew for a while here an hour ago, but nothing too drastic. Dust long gone

[melja]

Just spill over thunder Razor, very common there. Wind made for an interesting drive home from down there but nothing to extreme but people that try and drive campervans and tow caravan's in that wind just makes you wonder what there thinking.

[NZstorm]

Yes, the Mackenzie thunder is in clouds that have their bases about 10,000ft up and is able to cross the top of the Alps.

[03Stormchaser]

Saw this on facebook today, (Taken by Rose Baikie)

Are those lenticular clouds up the top? Does look like it is, possibly the best example I have seen, just wish the photo was showing it better.

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

2nd round of strong NW coming through @ the moment

[03Stormchaser]

A few photos from today. Top wind gust recorded was only 82kmph, slightly disappointed it wasn't more but will chose a more exposed location next time.

[Manukau heads obs]

good on ya for getting out there and chasing I say

[03Stormchaser]

good on ya for getting out there and chasing I say

Doesn't take much to convince me lol

[Razor]

Yeah the real dusty stuff just hit as I came down Rapaki Track. Sugarloaf and Crater Rim had been dead calm

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

Yes, I think the most interesting things about today's event was the widespread dust that developed with the NW winds. I actually, spat out some dust from my saliva, when walking outside when it was overcast with dust

[Razor]

Its the second "dust storm' that's reached ChCh this year, the last one being summer when we had the bad fires in Heihei etc. Never seen one before.... what landuse change could be responsible? Not dairy surely, they water everything

[Manukau heads obs]

why does it have to be a land use change?
I would thought the dust would have come from the river beds in the foot hills/gorges
(which is where the strongest winds would have been)
(there has been a like 10 days no rain for inland areas, yes?)

[RWood]

Non-event for Wellington (using my standard criterion of effect on a night's sleep).

[Richard]

why does it have to be a land use change?
I would thought the dust would have come from the river beds in the foot hills/gorges
)

Some of it was, but most came from recently cultivated paddocks,i was watching an area 15kms away from me where there was heaps coming off a hill block recently done, its poor farming boarding on environmental vandalism and there's no excuse for it, direct drilling is a far better way to resow where you dont loss the soil to wind. Ive heard every time there's a big blow like this and soil is lost to the wind it takes 20-30 years to build the lost soil back again, but then the way the modern farming is today they push there soils so hard that there's so little carbon been returned back to the soil that its probably taking 100's of years.

New Zealand is so far behind other parts of the world when it comes to soil conservation

[Manukau heads obs]

direct drilling/minimum tillage has been around for years and years
I would have thought it would have been a no brainer for Canterbury at this time of year
Farmers in Canty are aware of soil loss due to wind ...but I guess its a gamble when you prepare for spring crops...you either miss a NWer....or not..

[03Stormchaser]

I would think the large percentage of dust was from the rivers, Rakaia and Waimak. At times you could see recently plowed paddocks getting absolutely hammered though. Also new subdivisions still bing developed across the city adding to the dust in the city.

Short video from up the port hills.
https://youtu.be/5wPuvUkpN7w

[RichyDunedin]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fSUV6Z-VTdA

First video I have seen of the severe thunderstorm that hit yesterday. Very impressive sustained wind.

[Razor]

I would think the large percentage of dust was from the rivers, Rakaia and Waimak. At times you could see recently plowed paddocks getting absolutely hammered though. Also new subdivisions still bing developed across the city adding to the dust in the city.

Short video from up the port hills.
https://youtu.be/5wPuvUkpN7w

Bingo...someone worked out what I was thinking too!

Less water in the rivers due to irrigation, more dry channels, therefore increased risk of dust. Heard from several people travelling yesterday that the dust was primarily starting in the Rangitiata, Ashurton and Rakaia riverbeds in particular.

Having been involved in the farming sector in Canterbury over most of the last decade this has come as no surprise to me.

[Richard]

Yes there was a lot of dust from the rivers but around here there was a lot coming from farming areas, as Brian said direct drilling/minimum tillage has been around for years and years in yet some farmers still insist grubbing over and over as many as four times before sowing,its a mind set that needs to change, the number of farmers i saw doing just that a day or so before the wind was due show that some dont get a ****.

This video i took not far up the road from here
https://youtu.be/WGGkg7YHn8w

[melja]

Yep all the dust in the MacKenzie country was from worked paddocks and if there's every a place that doesn't need to lose more soil its there.

[Richard]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fSUV6Z-VTdA

First video I have seen of the severe thunderstorm that hit yesterday. Very impressive sustained wind.

Impressive alright, oh how i would like to see something like that around these parts

[Richard]

Yep all the dust in the MacKenzie country was from worked paddocks and if there's every a place that doesn't need to lose more soil its there.

Yes, that video i posted was just the last glimpse of a big gust, but you can see there's not a lot of soil in the paddock and i would hate to think how much was lost in that big blow.

[Orion]

A bad gale will even blow the soil out from under young crops - I heard of that happening to young wheat plants in that July 1975 gale.