Extreme weather Down-Under - 05/12/2016

We had rain here in Wellington yesterday. The end of the drought, thought some. “Bad weather” for others.

By the nighttime the rain had gone and at midnight it was a sweltering 20C (appox 70F) when it should (in mid-May) be HALF that.

A warm summer’s day in Wellington with the temperatures, although not the intense sunlight, of mid-summer. 20C – what it was at midnight.

By late afternoon the strong winds had arrived.

….

Conversation in shop:

"Isn't it a LOVELY day?"

"Don't you think it's a trifle too hot for this time of year?"

"Oh, but I like the warm weather"

"Don't you ever think about where your food comes from"

Even my horse Biscuit's got more intelligence than that conditioned amoeba.

Tasmania pummelled by strong winds up to 160kph, leaving hundreds without power

Via Facebook

Tasmania has been hit by strong wind gusts exceeding 150 kilometres per hour overnight, leaving hundreds of homes blacked out.

Hobart recorded wind speeds of more than 100kph, causing tree branches to fall across roads in many parts of the city.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Tim Bolden said the state's exposed peaks had been worst hit.

"We've seen Mount Wellington up to 159kph and 143kph at Maatsuyker Island," he said.

"We've also seen some very strong mean wind speeds.

"Hobart's actually seen it's mean wind speed climb above 40 knots or about 80kph."

He warned there would be more of the same tonight.

"We are expecting it to ease during the course of the morning, that's associated with an approaching warm front, but following that we do have another cold front crossing tonight and that does look like quite a similar setup to what we had last night," he said.

Police said they had not received any reports of significant damage.

Meanwhile TasNetworks said the wild winds left more than 1,500 homes without power in Blackmans Bay, Margate, Kingston and Kettering in the state's south.

In the north about 500 homes were without power at Preston near Devonport.

Information from the ABC & John's Weather Channel

Meanwhile here in New Zealand....

Warning of small tornados as high winds hit much of the country
High winds whipping parts of the country have been blamed for two vehicles rolling in Canterbury, while the wild weather has seen Cook Strait ferry sailings cancelled.

Stuff,

12 May, 2016

​

Powerlines were downed and high rise glass smashed to the ground on Thursday morning as the severe weather struck, with winds picked to increase to 140kmh for Wellington, Wairarapa, Hawke's Bay and Canterbury late in the day.

METSERVICE

Heavy rain moves up the South Island in this MetService rain radar image from 5.43pm.

MetService warned tornados could strike parts of the West Coast on Thursday night.

A trailer overturned on State Highway 73 on Canterbury's Springfield to West Coast Road, while a campervan rolled on State Highway 79 on the Geraldine to Fairlie Highway on Thursday afternoon.

High winds were suspected to be a contributing factor to the crashes, police said.

CN PHOTOGRAPHY

High winds push big swells onto the foreshore in Hokitika.

Severe northwest gales were picked to gust to 120kmh in exposed places, and 140kmh in inland Canterbury and Banks Peninsula.

Drivers of high-sided vehicles and motorbikes were urged to take care on State Highway 1, between Kaikoura and Blenheim; State Highway 80; Mount Cook to Twizel; State Highway 79; Fairlie to Rangitata; and State Highway 8, Twizel to Timaru.

The strongest winds were expected to last from midday through to midnight Thursday. The strong northwesterlies were likely to stick around into early next week.

In Wellington, gusts of up to 107kmh had been recorded shortly before 5.30pm on Thursday. 

NZTA warned that a strong wind warning was in place for the Rimutaka Hill Road. Drivers were advised to take extra care, particularly if in a high-sided vehicle or on a motorcycle.

The 8pm Thursday crossing of Cook Strait by Interislander ferry the Kaitaki, as well as the 1.05am Friday service had been cancelled because of high winds, the company said.

DONNA-MARIE LEVER

Wind whips across the Canterbury plains. Severe northwest gales were forecast to gust to 120kmh in exposed places, and 140kmh in inland Canterbury and Banks Peninsula.

Passengers and freight booked on those sailings would be transferred to other ships.

Sailings of the Interislander ship Kaiarahi were expected to delayed slightly to allow for customers to be transferred.

Wellington's East by West ferries had restricted sailings to their bigger boat, leaving Queens Wharf for Days Bay at 4.30, 5.30 and 6.30pm. All other sailings had been cancelled.

MetService is forecasting Very Severe Weather for large areas of New Zealand.

Jetstar and Air New Zealand each said all planes in and out of Wellington were running to schedule.

Severe northwest gales gusting up to 140khm were forecast from Thursday afternoon in Wellington, Wairarapa, and Marlborough, with strong gales forecast until early next week, MetService warned.

"Winds of this strength could damage trees, powerlines and unsecured structures, and also make driving hazardous."

Further south, surface flooding was reported in parts of the Lindis Pass.

GUSTS STOKE FIRE WORRY

Gusts of 80kmh had been recorded at Hawke's Bay Airport, north of Napier's CBD.

ROSS GIBLIN/FAIRFAX NZ

A window was blown out of the top floor of the building on the corner of The Terrace and Everton Tce, Wellington.

While the wind had abated around the city it was still gusty in parts of the region.

Rural fire teams were trying to control a blaze at Waimarama beach before the wind set in.

At Hastings District Council spokeswoman said the fire included a house bus and caravan, plus a patch of surrounding scrub.

CALEB HARRIS/FAIRFAX NZ

Contractors in Wairarapa replace a concrete power pole which snapped around 8.30am, after strong winds broke a heavy branch off a nearby tree and it fell onto the lines. Greytown fire brigade secured the area until Powerco arrived to turn off power and begin the repairs.

The council previously issued a warning to residents not to light outdoor fires over the coming weekend and into next week.

Not only were strong winds forecast but dry conditions and temperatures over 20 degrees were expected.

The council's rural fire officer Trevor Mitchell said exceptionally warm and windy autumn conditions made lighting outdoor fires in rural Hawke's Bay "very, very risky".

ROSS GIBLIN/FAIRFAX NZ

Smashed glass landed on the footpath and street below.

"Of particular concern are fires that have been put out during the week which might still have hot embers in their base. With this wind, the chances of them re igniting have to be high."

He urged residents to check any recent fire spots to ensure they were completely cold: "While the hills appear green, there is a lot of dry grass and autumn leaves about, sparks and embers can easily be blown into these starting an uncontrolled fire."

Central Hawke's Bay spokesman Bruce Kitto said his region was also very dry and his main concern was strong winds whipping up flames from old ashes.

ROSS GIBLIN/FAIRFAX NZ

Strong winds smashed windows on this building on The Terrace, Wellington.

He said strong winds were not uncommon for the district but contractors, emergency services and civil defence had been notified just in case.

No reports of wind related damage had been received yet.

TORNADO WARNING

MetService was warning of "one or two small tornados" in localised coastal areas on the South Island's West Coast, in a Severe Thunderstorm Watch.

The forecaster said severe thunderstorms with northwest wind gusts exceeding 110kmh could affect southern Westland, Fiordland and Stewart Island on Thursday afternoon and early evening.

The storms could also affect the remainder of Westland and Buller on Thursday evening and night. 

In Canterbury, severe northwest gales could gust to 120kmh in exposed places, and 140kmh in inland Canterbury and Banks Peninsula.

HEAVY RAIN

While it was blue skies in Christchurch on Thursday afternoon, Canterbury could see rain in the 12 hours from midday, with up to 20mm per hour, and thunderstorms possible.

In Westland, up to 30mm of rain could fall per hour amid squally thunderstorms.

In Otago's lakes and river headwaters, for seven hours from 11am, up to 20mm of rain could fall per hour and thunder was possible.

At George Sound, Southland, up to 25mm of rain could fall per hour for six hours from 10pm.

The weather was caused by a large trough, preceded by a strong northerly flow, passing over central and northern New Zealand from dawn on Thursday, MetService said.

"The largest accumulations are expected about the ranges of Westland, where 180mm of rain is likely during Thursday on top of what has already fallen," the forecaster said in its warning.

"This amount of rain will cause streams and rivers to rise rapidly and could lead to slips, making conditions dangerous for trampers."

"Further bursts of heavy rain are likely through to early next week as an unsettled west to northwest flow spreads over the country behind this rough."

WINDY, WET FRIDAY AND WEEKEND

The outlook for Friday wasn't looking that good, with heavy downpours, thunderstorms and gusty winds picked to continue through parts of the day and into the weekend.

Moderate to heavy downpours were forecast through Nelson, Blenheim and the Marlborough region, MetService said.

Rain could also be heavy in the Tararua Ranges about Wellington.

Wind warnings were in force through Wellington, Wairarapa and southern Hawke's Bay.

Strong winds in the capital and Hawke's Bay would ease during the day but return in the evening, extending toward the Bay of Plenty.

Thundery downpours would continue on the West Coast and high winds would persist in Southland.

Saturday would be windy for much of the east coast of both islands, from Southland through to Gisborne.

WIND SMASHES BUILDING'S GLASS PANE

Senior station officer Johnny Andrews said firefighters were called to the 11-storey building on The Terrace in Wellington early on Thursday after a large glass pane in the top storey broke, raining glass down on the road below. Two large awning panes were also broken.

The area was cordoned off and rush hour traffic off the motorway stopped for periods while the remaining glass was smashed out.

In the end, firefighters dangled a crowbar from the roof and smashed the glass out.

The same building, on the corner of Everton Tce, had previously lost panes, and the body corporate would be in touch with its glass supplier, Andrews said.