Flooding in Christchurch

This in from an news paper article yesterday - it kinda explains NZ weather systems!
Suffice to say we don't get long periods of WARM sunny summer weather neither. I am told that the wild life at willowbank wildlife reserve (just up the road from us) is having a ball - in particular these otters.

Once in a while, like this week, New Zealand becomes home to a family that just does not want to leave.

The family in question is an unwelcome brood of spiralling low pressure systems spreading gloom and misery.

During the past few days the country has been targeted by a large and deepening area of low pressure, the likes of which we have not seen across the South Island since July 2008.

Rain bands, stalled warm and cold fronts and small, spinning depression centres within this bigger feature have brought heavy rain and are about to serve up high winds and even snow to low levels. Weather systems in New Zealand generally race across from west to east, bringing the rapidly changing pattern we all know and grudgingly accept as normal. But occasionally, as we are experiencing this week, the brakes go on.

What happens is determined by things higher in the atmosphere. Strong winds at altitudes of between 6000m and 10,000m steer surface low and high pressure systems, which then determine the weather at ground level.

The complex trough of low pressure bothering us this week is unfortunately stuck underneath a large upper-level trough, which means nothing is moving fast. The general trend is for the storm system to slowly shift out to the east of the South Island, but computer models indicate it will not be until the end of the weekend.

What makes forecasting even more difficult in this situation is that each small depression centre within the main system is not only spinning itself, but is rotating around the other centres, like a whirlpool or a troupe of ballet dancers pirouetting around each other. With no strong winds above to move them on, they keep spinning and heading back towards the country.

One thing is for sure: nothing is going anywhere in a hurry.

Flooding in Christchurch

hmmm here is an "official" The press flyover of the worst hit region! Love the way some people "wash " their cars. What is not shown is the loss of lives from the farms - sheep and cattle ^^

Flooding in Christchurch

hmmmmm - I knew it - must be a scout camp coming up :P - it's raining a g a i n . . .. .

Anywhoooo - yesterday in the 12 hours to 6 pm we had more rain falling in our town then the previous 5 months total!! No wonder we have flooding in Christchurch and other parts of the south island. So we sure broke the drought - in a urm well wet manner!! Things aren't to great! Normally any weather system moves through (or over our island) at three days - four tops - but this one has hung around and it looks like it will hang round for another 4 days. I cut and paste a news item here, seems the Army is being mobilized . . . . . ^^

On the other hand the farmers almost loving this weather and urm - the SKI field staff are dancing with joy with all this free snow falling in the mountains.
There is a silver lining in every cloud - although RIGHT now I wish I could see said lining ^^


He did what I would have done - try and make waves!! NOT your traditional way to wash your car - urm - inside and outside. On the other hand - what a fun ride - ok - WHERE is my rubber duckie???







Seems farmers can still move around - funny thing is I have seen one of these things once loose tractions and starting to float - urm swim - urm - ok slowly sink!! they turn upside down . .







from our news services ------>

LATEST: State Highway One has reopened south of Oamaru but the road north of the town remains blocked by floodwaters. The army has been called in to help North Otago residents stranded by flooding. Soldiers and two Unimogs would today attempt to access areas cut off by heavy rain. Two Iroquois helicopters were also on standby as steady rain continued to fall, and snow forecast to hit low lying areas.

Heavy rain isolated Oamaru yesterday and an evacuation assembly point was set up in Kakanui, 11km away. State Highway 1 south of Oamaru reopened today for the second time shortly before midday but SH1 north of Oamaru and SH83 remained closed, Waitaki Civil Defence spokesman Richard Mabon said.``We still advise the public to avoid non-urgent travel as many roads across the district remain impassable,'' he said. Many kindergartens and schools were closed today and school bus services had been cancelled.

Mr Mabon said the council was advising people on rural water supplies to conserve water but were not advising them to boil water at this time. Timaru District Council acting public information manager Philip Howe said the area was lashed by heavy rain overnight and several roads in the Levels, Arowhenua, Milford/Clandeboye, Rosewill and Washdyke areas had been closed. Unnecessary travel should be avoided and all schools in Temuka and Pleasant Point were closed, he said.

More rain was forecast for the area today but river levels had peaked and were now stable. Mr Howe said unfiltered water would enter the Te Moana water supply from 1pm and residents should boil their water. Other rural water supplies may be discoloured but were safe to drink, he said. An Environment Canterbuy spokesman said the area was ``over the worst of it'' and most rivers had peaked late last night or early this morning.

``We've just really got to keep an eye on what the intensity of the rainfalls are going to be for the rest of the day,'' he said. Wellington emergency services were kept busy late last night as flooding swept cars down roads and put residents on evacuation alert. Water flowed on to properties in the northern suburb of Tawa, as well as in Porirua's Titahi Bay, forcing Civil Defence to prepare to evacuate houses from 9pm.

Several roads around Titahi Bay were closed as surface flooding sent cars floating down them. ``There were a couple of places where cars were bobbing around,'' police central communications Inspector Mark Oliver told NZPA early this morning. ``You're talking about a fair amount of water to float a car. Although it may not necessarily be the depth, it may be how fast it's flowing, because if it's where the water has breached the river banks then it generally does that in a fair rush.'' However, roads reopened and evacuations were avoided as the heavy rain subsided.

It seemed to come on very quickly then die down very quickly,'' Mr Oliver said. House evacuations that were going to go ahead never did in the end, so that was good, and by about midnight we heard the last of any major issues. I'm sure there are areas of surface flooding out there, but nothing that's causing any issues for us.'' Mr Oliver said he was not sure if any houses had been damaged by flooding. There were a couple of properties that certainly had water flowing into them, but I'm not sure if anything breached into houses.''

Canterbury, Otago and the Bay of Plenty were also on alert overnight as the wet weather continued to affect many parts of the country. Whakatane police said the heavy rain that had been forecast in the eastern Bay of Plenty, where flooding yesterday forced a family to evacuate, had caused no major problems overnight.

Be good and don't forget your gumies if your playing out in the rain!!!

On a rainy day in Christchurch a bear is 'sposed to do - what????

It rained so hard for a while that there was this mist on top of the car!!
I grabbed my camera and stuffed round with some time / aperture settings. I am quite pleased with this shot!!




OK - so it rains from time to time - except today we had a heavy weather warning for the whole country - with some parts expecting up to 250 or 300mml of rain inside 24 hours - now thats a lot.
So what is a old bear supposed to do on his day of and being more or less confined to the inside??
HOME alone too ( I have to point out ^^ )
He sews - took me most of the day - but I finally got most of the badges sewn on my scout blanket, newest additions are seen in this picture!! Who can recognize their traded badges??

Rain. rain and more rain

Rain and more rain and even more rain. NZ is so handily placed for extreme weather. Yesterday we had to fly out 120 trampers from the world famous Milford sound track. They had 400ml of rain in 24 hours - and water went passed them at head high!!! No way they could make the many river crossings on the track.

Here is a poem from one of the very early west coast settlers - Anonymously penned - and a classic - as it very accurately describes our weather out west.

" Rain - It rained and rained and rained,
the average fall was well maintained
and when the tracks were simple bogs
it started raining cats and dogs,
after a drought of half an hour,
we had a most refreshing shower,
and then the most curious thing of all,
a gentle rain began to fall,
next day but one was fairly dry,
save for one deluge from the sky,
which wetted the party to the skin,
and then at last - the rain set in."

And believe me - this is a very good description of some weather patterns.


Usually rain is a lot of fun - and next doors kid can be seen getting ready to have some fun with his duckie and umbrella. Pity his mum didn't give him gumboots, or a boat. Still he had fun which is all that matters.