General December Weather

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

Hot this WE. Predicting 30C down here. Interesting to see what may follow into the New Year?

[Chris W]

Interesting little cell with a burst of heavy rain in town just now. Not really forecast with only '"light showers" mentioned.

[Storm Struck]

I spotted that moving up on the radars ramped up just after Rakaia, went unstable very quickly with big drops of rain and a single distant rumble of thunder towards port hills way.
Pretty cool separation stratocumulus line took some photos but i cant attach them due to file size apparently, between that and the incoming shower activity.
Must be a small upper trough skirting by.

[Orion]

At present there is a striking pattern like ridges and furrows in the cloud layer across the sky to the north

[Cyclone Tracy]

My 2 cents worth on the end of December synoptics. Powerful monsoonal pulse, very strong ridge and sustained abnormally warm sea surface temperatures in the early new year around NZ. There is going to be plenty of fuel from the waters close to NZ to feed any EX-TC that finds a weakness in the ridge around mid January.

[Classicford]

Interesting cloud formation over central Christchurch at the moment!?

[TonyT]

Gloomy day yet again, but thankfully this pattern is changing as of tomorrow, how long will it last before it switches back again though?

3 weeks

[TonyT]

My 2 cents worth on the end of December synoptics. Powerful monsoonal pulse, very strong ridge and sustained abnormally warm sea surface temperatures in the early new year around NZ. There is going to be plenty of fuel from the waters close to NZ to feed any EX-TC that finds a weakness in the ridge around mid January.

Last third of January could get quite interesting.

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

I spotted that moving up on the radars ramped up just after Rakaia, went unstable very quickly with big drops of rain and a single distant rumble of thunder towards port hills way.
Pretty cool separation stratocumulus line took some photos but i cant attach them due to file size apparently, between that and the incoming shower activity.
Must be a small upper trough skirting by.

Yes, I noticed that too, yesterday, especially around the upper Rangitata area. I was listening to RNZ at the time on AM and heard a sfreric. Rushed outside and didn't hear anything but it looked suspicious around the Rangitat area. I ckecked the Blitz but there was nothing there.
Today's skies looked a bit interesting as well this afternoon. I noticed some weak KH forms, below


and some other interesting forms later this evening.

[Cyclone Tracy]

My 2 cents worth on the end of December synoptics. Powerful monsoonal pulse, very strong ridge and sustained abnormally warm sea surface temperatures in the early new year around NZ. There is going to be plenty of fuel from the waters close to NZ to feed any EX-TC that finds a weakness in the ridge around mid January.

Last third of January could get quite interesting.

Yes indeed. It's hard to see at the moment when that subtropical ridge will weaken. All exits from the tropics towards NZ look closed for at least a few weeks.

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

Thick Sc forms late this afternoon and evening with interesting looking forms on the underneath of the cloud layer. A substantial shower passed over here after 9pm.

[melja]

18mm of unexpected rain last night!

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[melja]

Very heavy shower in Yaldhurst just now, gutters full.
The **** continues!

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[TonyT]

Very heavy shower in Yaldhurst just now, gutters full.
The **** continues!

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As the rest of us stay dry, we are starting to wonder Melja - perhaps its you? The rain loves you. It wants to be near you. It wants to wet you. You have transcended and become a rain god.

[melja]

And take a look at the last 24h radar and you'll clearly see last night's rain starting at 10pm

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[Richard]

In Rangiora now, can tell there's been a lot of rain alright

[melja]

That's right Richard! Sometimes professional forecasters need to get out from behind the keyboard and remove the blinkers.

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[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

In Rangiora now, can tell there's been a lot of rain alright

There was a bit of rain around Rangiora, last night according to the radars and I think there were a couple of rumbles of thunder around the Rakaia Gorge area where this rain came from.
We had a substantial shower from the cloud in the pictures above around 9pm.

[Chris Raine]

and look out the window .When I worked at the Kelburn Met office in the 70's there was surprise in the forecast room one afternoon when I said to the Duty forecaster its raining .Where did that come from was the reply ? A senior forecaster said to the rest of the team that day it pays to look out the window and not stare at maps and charts (no computers then) and create a forecast based on paper information. It was the Wellington forecast that then had to be amended

[Richard]

A classic case of nowcasting Chris

[Chris W]

Meanwhile the past two days in Granity and Karamea/Heaphy Track have been marvellous. The norwester can push me home across Arthur's tomorrow!

[spwill]

We had lovely weather for our 5 days in Central Otago.
Back into Auckland yesterday to clear sunny conditions, a southwest breeze which keeps the sea breeze convergence away. Today looks cloudy in Auckland with wind convergence and a low end shower chance. Tomorrow is back to fine.

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

Fine and hot here after early morning rain. Light northerly and 28C and rising.

[Richard]

Warm day alright, i see Cheviot just shy of 30deg, 26.8 here with a moderate NW wind most of the day.

[Chris Raine]

We got no rain last night out of the first front .Water level in tank now precarious .Hope the cloud on the incoming front tonight gives us something . Hot here today 30 C