To mark the tenth anniversary of nzherald.co.nz, we're rounding up some of the highs and lows of the last decade. Below we look at some of the wild weather to hit New Zealand since 1998.
KEY POINTS:
1. Heatwave 1998
NIWA said the world heatwave in 1998 was also evident in New Zealand where temperatures were about 1.2C above average - the highest for 60 years, and the second warmest since records began 145 years ago.
In February, New Zealand was 2.5C above average. During June, there were days when temperatures were six to seven degrees above normal.
Jim Salinger at NIWA said an El Nino pattern was the cause of droughts affecting eastern areas of the country, while giving heavy rains in the west. "Hawke's Bay has had only one third of its average autumn rainfall", he said.
NIWA report
2. Early cold snap April 1999
Winter arrived early in mid-April when a storm brought snow to near sea level in the south of the South Island and to Desert Road level in the North.
In Southland, the Te Anau Basin had its biggest snowfall for years, closing roads and causing power-cuts, MetService noted.
Dargaville had what was described as a "50 to 60 year flood", with homes and businesses inundated by water, and roads badly damaged.
There were 9 road fatalities in the North Island, most of them weather-related.
MetService report
3. Water shortage 2003
A dry year resulted in the formation of a power shortage taskforce after river flows, lake levels, and groundwater levels hit record or near-record lows over much of the country in March and April.
Restrictions on taking water from rivers were in place for more than 60 rivers nationwide.
Groundwater levels were very low in Hawke's Bay, Manawatu, Wairarapa, Wellington, Nelson, Marlborough, and Canterbury, NIWA said.
NIWA report
4. February storm 2004
Floods devastated the lower North Island in February with two people killed and widespread landslides causing nearly 20,000ha of pasture to be lost from farms.
Damage was estimated at around $100m and more than a week after the initial storms, up to 1000 people remained homeless, while others were still without power and telephones, and several roads remain closed.
The BBC said: "Unseasonal summer storms lashed across a central swathe of the country."
BBC report
nzherald.co.nz report
5. Summer scorcher 2005
A heatwave at the end of January and start of February saw temperatures in the high 30s recorded in the both islands. Alexandra in Central Otago peaked at 38.7°C on February 5 - its highest ever temperature in records going back to 1929. (The highest temperature ever recorded in New Zealand is 42.4C at Rangiora & Jordan (Marlborough) on February 7, 1973.)
In the North Island, New Plymouth recorded 29°C for 5 days in a row and then reached 31°C on February 5, a 25-year record high.
MetService report
6. Bay of Plenty storm 2005
A storm in the eastern bay of Plenty killed two women and caused thousands of people to be evacuated from their homes.
It was then followed by earthquakes which the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences said could have been triggered by the weight of the floodwater.
nzherald.co.nz report
7. Tornado in Greymouth 2005
A tornado on March 10 caused $10 million of damage in Greymouth, demolishing buildings, snapping concrete power poles and overturning cars and trucks. Three people were injured.
About 40 homes, 30 businesses, and dozens of vehicles were badly damaged, MetService reported. A rest home's roof was torn off and its residents evacuated.
The winds were thought to have exceeded 200km/h.
MetService report
8. North Island storm 2007
In Northland easterly gales and heavy rain produced widespread flooding, property, infrastructure and stock losses on July 10.
Winds gusted as high as 180km/h on the offshore island of Tititiri Matangi, with 254mm of rain in 12 hours on Kaeo.
The estimated damage was $60 million.
nzherald.co.nz report
9. East Coast drought 2008
By early February, Waikato was declared to be a drought area and no significant rainfall was recorded until mid-April.
Severe soil moisture deficits occurred in Waikato, King Country, south Taranaki, Manawatu, Wairarapa and central Marlborough through to the end of March. Significant moisture deficits occurred in the west of the North Island and east of the South Island, NIWA said.
Farmers throughout the East Coast and in areas including North Canterbury were put under severe pressure. Some sheep farmers were forced to shoot their livestock.
nzherald.co.nz report
10. Northland storm July 2008
A storm, tipped to be one of the worst in 10 years, moved over the country from the north.
Northland was hit hard first, with wind gusts of up to 130km/h bringing down trees and power lines as the storm made landfall.
Thousands of homes were without power in the region, while Auckland also suffered.
MetService described the storm as "extremely rare and nasty" with up to 200mm of rain in 24 hours in some areas.
nzherald.co.nz report
