A few weeks ago I was hearing from Kiwis that summer was slow arriving – I noticed this optimistic story in NZ Herald on 1 Jan 2014 – Perfect summer days likely to follow patchy spell, analysts say. I took a copy to checkout around middle of month. Today I see – Cold front hitting NZ ‘like a freight train’– Brendan Manning – 16 Jan, 2014
Does this mean the perfect summer arrived and now is departing?
Or did the perfect summer not really arrive at all?
Always interested what is happening over the ditch.
I remember as a kid in 40’s n 50’s that my parents knew to holiday late in the NZ summer when weather was more stable.
This set of animated weather forecast maps by USA based WeatherStreet.com suggests that after the weekend the remains of the front could join with a tropical cyclone heading for NZ from direction New Caledonia. Possibility of more weather.
Move your cursor along list of days at bottom.
Yes Brendan, Kiwi here – my Mum always said that in “her day” they took holidays in March as it was more settled then. We have had some truly gorgeous days but not ever overly-hot this Summer. Frankly, I haven’t been tempted yet for a swim in the ocean – and we are in the Big Smoke – Auckland – not in the deep South Is where they had some wicked hail storms early in the Season. Today the sun is out but the annoying wind is keeping things fairly cool – the wind was a pest on Tuesday too. Surf will be high though! Here on our isthmus we have the amazing luxury of both coasts. But things can be a bit hokey on this side of The Ditch. Our Interislander Ferry the Aratere lost it’s propeller last Nov. Then there were strikes in Dec. Today our brand-new ferry from Europe The Stena Alegra set out on it’s maiden voyage with great fanfare and then promptly broke down…Ya hafta laugh!
It is still the sensible thing to take holidays late in Jan or even Feb in Kiwiland. However, there are still those many intrepid souls who insist on three (or these days even four) weeks across December- New Year. They still get rained on and blown away but they persist in going. The earthmovers doin my drive shot off the week before Christmas but at least my chippy has left his break until next week. And we have scheduled a week off in the last week of Jan.
But down here in South Island the mornings are definitely autumnal. 6 C when I got up this morn, 7 C the day before. Similar temps predicted for tomorrow morn.
It was a great day today sunwise but the wind is not nice. When we arrived in South Canty the locals assured us that “we don’t get wind like those experienced by Chch and Rangiora.” But since early September we have had regular blows from savage wind storms to tiring, sapping, nagging, draining super-breezes.
And just remember Salinger has been grabbing the healdines over here with the unprecendented tempertaures we had in 2013. I still am unsure whether these were pre- or post-“homogneisation.” Wonder if he has rmembered the alogrithim he used this time.
If all the world’s best climate scientists, with their expensive tax-payer funded climate computer models couldn’t predict New Zealand would be drought free when carbon(sic) levels are at 400ppm, one would be foolish to think they could be correct now.
www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-06/nz-drought-over/4671688
How stupid would it be to legislate to to change your economy on their advice?
Further to my note above – we continue with hoki-ness…as our brand new Interisland Ferry has yet to venture out for it’s maiden voyage. Was apparently fixed after it’s initial “break-down” but it’s scheduled 5pm Saturday crossing was cancelled due to too much wind. Passengers were shown to be supremely disappointed as they were transferred to the rather lowly Kaitaki for a 7pm crossing.
WeatherStreet.com prediction from last week mentioned in my article comes true. Tropical cyclone June rains on northern New Zealand.
So the “perfect summer” retreats a bit further into the future. Checkout NZ rain radar.
Email this morning from Kiwi commenting on trip to Central Otago.
Weather was very cold down south with a ground frost recorded on Saturday morning. Cold southerlies on trip south which added 30 minutes to flight time. An interesting landing at Queenstown which is always hairy at the best of times.