Wild ride for Cantabrians

Photo / Aaron J Wilkinson, Weatherwatch

Cantabrians enjoyed a wild ride yesterday as at least two main thunderstorm cells moved slowly across the region. Cold air at high altitudes combined with afternoon heating created the spectacular clouds that produced the thunderstorms, hail, gales and torrential rain.

See yesterday's photo gallery here.

Across inland Canterbury descriptions came in of the skies turning dark like winter. In the afternoon I had received an update about an isolated incident of golf ball sized hail, which I figured wasn't accurate. But just an hour later our weather analyst Richard Green, who not only lives in Canterbury but was also in the direct path of both storm fronts, confirmed he had also seen hail "ranging from pea size to golfball size". Damage is now being reported to crops and yesterday we heard windows and cars were damaged.

Around Kirwee, inland from Christchurch, thunder rumbled continuously for 7 hours as the storms slowly developed then crawled northwards. When the second and final thunder band moved through around early evening a gale force wind accompanied it with gusts estimated over 120km/h. Then the temperature dropped to just 5 degrees.

Right across Canterbury the temperature fell behind the system.

These thunderstorms backed up what I said the other day - that the weather pattern we have over much of the lower two thirds of the country has many spring characteristics. It's very changeable and violent. Temperatures for some places are in the 30s one day then fall to the mid teens the next. Gales one day, then calm. Sunny one day then torrential rain. All the hallmarks of the middle of spring rather than the start of summer.

There was some good news about yesterday's thunderstorms - it brought much needed rain to farms. Here's hoping the next dose isn't quite so extreme.

With this spring weather pattern over us it makes me think that the four day Christmas weekend will be unsettled...in other words we might have three sunny days but one wet day. Or two calm days and two windy days. Still a little too early to give an accurate forecast but should have some details in time for my next blog.

Today, the thunderstorm risk for New Zealand isn't as extreme however MetService has moderate confidence of small thunderstorms and some hail around inland Nelson and inland Marlborough and a similar story for the Gisborne and Hawkes Bay ranges and also eastern Bay of Plenty for this afternoon and evening.