Cold blast tempers festivities

An unexpected return to winter quickly turned summer celebrations into washouts yesterday.

Aucklanders missed out on the annual Grey Lynn Park Summer Festival, as icy winds and rain swept Auckland. Organisers were forced to cancel the event, and, with no rain-day, the thousands who normally attend the festival will have to wait until next year.

The dreary conditions also forced the postponement of the start of the Western Springs Speedway season until tonight. Organisers of today's Farmers' Santa Parade anxiously watched the skies last night, but said with today's weather promising to be better, the parade should go ahead.

Elsewhere, localised heavy rainstorms struck both Northern Auckland and the Rodney District last Friday night and yesterday morning, downing trees and causing flash-flooding.

Hailstones the size of grapes lashed the small town of Kaiwaka, 18km northwest of Wellsford yesterday morning.

In Mangawhai, one resident reported 100mm of rain had fallen overnight last Friday, accompanied by "vicious" winds. Electricity was out yesterday morning and there was minor surface flooding in the towns of Warkworth and Wellsford.

Heavy rain also caused tree-related power outages on Waiheke Island and in West Auckland.

Vector spokeswoman Sharon Williamson said 2500 residents on Waiheke Island were without power for two hours and 500 residents in Laingholm, West Auckland, for more than three hours yesterday afternoon.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY