Rain then Gales

Michael · Unread post by **Michael** » Sat 04/12/2004 16:04

Eagerly looking forward as the rain and 15c gets harder then SW Gales to follow with plenty more cloud Roll on Winter

Michael · Unread post by **Michael** » Sun 05/12/2004 07:50

AS PER NORMAL FOR AUCKLAND HORIZONTAL RAIN WITH FREEZING GALEFORCE SW WINDS

Manukau heads obs · Sun 05/12/2004 08:50

was getting in cows for milking in the thick of it michael.....10.5oC, torrential rain, 30 knot winds
at least you were able to stay in bed, LOL

yes, very wintry for summer!

spwill · Unread post by **spwill** » Sun 05/12/2004 09:22

24 hours of rain but it's now clearing, 25mm. The squally showers wont be far away Michael.
The charts for later in the week point to low level snow fall in the South Island.

RWood · Unread post by **RWood** » Sun 05/12/2004 09:36

Manukau heads observer wrote:was getting in cows for milking in the thick of it michael.....10.5oC, torrential rain, 30 knot winds
at least you were able to stay in bed, LOL

yes, very wintry for summer!

Here in W'gton yesterday was very sunny and pleasant, even though temp only about 18, lightish winds. Now thin brightish overcast with cloudbase slowly lowering. If predicted strong southerly and rain occur then we should get our wettest year since 1979 even with a total only 9-10% above longterm average. I hope this doesn't mark the end of a relatively dry epoch - in the past a notable one was 1906-1935, when only 6 years reached average and only 3 were 102% or more of normal.

03Stormchaser · Unread post by **03Stormchaser** » Sun 05/12/2004 09:40

RWood wrote:
Manukau heads observer wrote:was getting in cows for milking in the thick of it michael.....10.5oC, torrential rain, 30 knot winds
at least you were able to stay in bed, LOL

yes, very wintry for summer!
Here in W'gton yesterday was very sunny and pleasant, even though temp only about 18, lightish winds. Now thin brightish overcast with cloudbase slowly lowering. If predicted strong southerly and rain occur then we should get our wettest year since 1979 even with a total only 9-10% above longterm average. I hope this doesn't mark the end of a relatively dry epoch - in the past a notable one was 1906-1935, when only 6 years reached average and only 3 were 102% or more of normal.

You love your facts and figures dont you!

Manukau heads obs · Sun 05/12/2004 09:56

this low is deepening fast, as some models predicted
and many parts of the NZ will get a bit of a battering today by the looks!!

the showers in the SW flow are here now
wind has not got up to predictions here, yet, gusting 33 knots or so at the moment

Michael · Unread post by **Michael** » Sun 05/12/2004 10:10

Wellingtons climate although slightly cooler appears to be more settled than Aucklands in recent years

tich · Unread post by **tich** » Sun 05/12/2004 10:44

The charts for later in the week point to low level snow fall in the South Island.

That would be an unusual occurence for December. BTW, I guess this weekend's weather system would've most likely brought significant snow to low levels in parts of the inland South Island (esp Central otago and Southland) had it happened in winter.

Michael · Unread post by **Michael** » Sun 05/12/2004 11:16

it happened in 1989

tich wrote:
The charts for later in the week point to low level snow fall in the South Island.
That would be an unusual occurence for December. BTW, I guess this weekend's weather system would've most likely brought significant snow to low levels in parts of the inland South Island (esp Central otago and Southland) had it happened in winter.

03Stormchaser · Unread post by **03Stormchaser** » Sun 05/12/2004 11:57

my Mother always reminds me to always take a coat in December, she goes on about how it snowed one christmas day! I will have too find out when and where this!

Michael · Unread post by **Michael** » Sun 05/12/2004 12:45

just hate this f'ing weather

RWood · Unread post by **RWood** » Sun 05/12/2004 12:53

Michael wrote:Wellingtons climate although slightly cooler appears to be more settled than Aucklands in recent years

I would say that it has improved significantly in the last 20 years, but MHO's comment about cycles needs to be borne in mind. The wet years in the latter 70s here are not that far from recall. I used to enjoy visits north in those days, for the weather improvement. Am mildly optimistic that W'gton won't revert to its 70s persona.

Ciao for now

Michael · Unread post by **Michael** » Sun 05/12/2004 13:08

I remember Wellington used to have northerly gales with low drizzel on the hills and misty light blown rain then it would pour then it would go S and get this damp cold with continous blown showers and biting damp wind.

Its now just about all the time up here SW conditions if not its usually plain wet

Manukau heads obs · Sun 05/12/2004 13:30

had one of the biggest hail size showers for quite a while a little while ago....

Thunder · Unread post by **Thunder** » Sun 05/12/2004 13:35

How big?

I guess if you were going to take a storm chasing holiday to Australia now would be the time as storms look to be around the east coast and inland areas over the next week or so.

Manukau heads obs · Sun 05/12/2004 13:43

they were hitting the windows pretty hard (but it was 35 knot winds too)
around 0.5cm size
(which is what was mentioned by the met service)

Michael · Unread post by **Michael** » Sun 05/12/2004 16:17

It would be wonderful to go there to see that unusual phenomen of a yellow thing in a blue background and well overdue warmth and see brown ground from dryness rather than mud

Aaron J Wilkinson wrote:How big?

I guess if you were going to take a storm chasing holiday to Australia now would be the time as storms look to be around the east coast and inland areas over the next week or so.

spwill · Unread post by **spwill** » Sun 05/12/2004 18:07

Some small hail here today.
Yes Aaron, this week looks good in NewSouthWales for Thunderstorms.
High season for storms there is Dec,Jan and Feb. Sydney to Brisbane is the best place to see them.

tich · Unread post by **tich** » Sun 05/12/2004 19:07

I've just seen TV1 Weather, and what a wintry day it has been, combining cold air from the south with cloud and moisture. The 10C max in Taupo could be a record low for December - I'm sure their average for this month is about 20C.

Snow's been down to 500m on South Island high country. I guess the Mackenzie Country would've copped quite a bit of it. (Gary, are you still here?)

tich · Unread post by **tich** » Sun 05/12/2004 22:05

According to radio news, stormy southerlies are battering the Wairarapa, and presumably other lower North Island areas as well. (I only caught a bit of the news item) I wouldn't want to be on a Cook Strait Ferry right now.

Willoughby · Unread post by **Willoughby** » Mon 06/12/2004 01:39

Just got back home from tramping at Lake Waikaremoana and boy was it cold today there! 8c max approx @ 582 asl, gale force winds at times all weekend. It rained from Saturday 6pm and went right though to 12pm Sunday

The track then turned to slush and we were cold and drenched

There were also some interesting comments left in the visitor's book about Chris Carter's performance with DOC.

tich · Unread post by **tich** » Mon 06/12/2004 08:35

Just got back home from tramping at Lake Waikaremoana and boy was it cold today there! 8c max approx @ 582 asl, gale force winds at times all weekend. It rained from Saturday 6pm and went right though to 12pm Sunday
The track then turned to slush and we were cold and drenched

That's an area very exposed to wet weather, esp from the southeast. I remember passing through there during a southeasterly storm on Queen's Birthday Weekend 1997 - gales, driving heavy rain, plus snow flurries at Huirau summit (900m). At least the waterfalls were spectacular.

Great photo BTW.

RWood · Unread post by **RWood** » Mon 06/12/2004 11:35

[quote="Michael"]It would be wonderful to go there to see that unusual phenomen of a yellow thing in a blue background and well overdue warmth and see brown ground from dryness rather than mud

[quote="Aaron J Wilkinson"]How big?

Brisbane has had over 2,900 hrs sun this year to end-November, and Perth are gets about 3,100+ annually these days despite (diminishing)moderate winter rains. For an extreme option look at the norms for Yuma, Arizona of Western fame.

RWood · Unread post by **RWood** » Mon 06/12/2004 11:58

Michael wrote:I remember Wellington used to have northerly gales with low drizzel on the hills and misty light blown rain then it would pour then it would go S and get this damp cold with continous blown showers and biting damp wind.
Its now just about all the time up here SW conditions if not its usually plain wet

Wellington hasn't changed fundamentally all that much, but there seem to be longer periods of light winds than of yore. During periods with NE anomaly it can be very good.

But see my other email about sunny spots - in my definition, no part of NZ is "subtropical"