Editorial: So glad for calm after 'storm'

We are obsessed with the weather.

As a nation we are obsessed with the weather. It is something that brings us together, making for easy conversation over garden fences or with the in-laws. Nothing gets the country going more than a big weather event.

Unfortunately, our love of a good weather story doesn't often extend to love of weather forecasters, who are often slammed for getting it wrong.

On Friday, most Kiwis were gripped by news of the approaching deadly cyclone. In the Mount, residents and retailers who had been previous flooding victims were taking no chances and grabbed sandbags.

Here in the newsroom we checked our torches and lined up our gumboots. No doubt our preparation was matched in offices and houses across the Bay.

As the skies darkened on Friday night there was huge apprehension of what was to come. We huddled together as MetService meteorologist Dan Corbett warned us that overnight and into Saturday "the beast will really show its fangs and teeth".

As I write this now, the sun is out and apart from some expected power outages and falling debris, the cyclone has not wreaked its predicted havoc.

This has been met with some amusement. One poster on our Bay of Plenty Times Facebook page joked that the chrysalis had fallen off his swan plant, while another remarked that the caterpillars managed to hold on. Another said the most nuisance it had caused was a sock blowing off the washing line.

It is easy to share a joke in the calm after the storm. But for anyone who has been a victim of adverse weather, like those in Christchurch recovering from last week's flooding or farmers whose livelihoods have been harmed by drought, the weather is no joke.

On Friday, emergency services, council and residents were as prepared as they could be. As well as having a chuckle, we can breathe a sigh of relief. The forecasters were right to prepare us for the worst. I'm not sorry they got it wrong, I'm grateful.