KEY POINTS:
Well after Friday's tornado in Cambridge I guess the question is "Will there be more?". Spring has so far been pretty quiet, especially compared to the past two Octobers with very little on the lightning detectors and that's due to the Tasman Sea being much quieter.
Click here for details on the Cambridge tornado.
If the Tasman Sea continues to stay quiet then a repeat performance of this morning isn't likely - but we're in the middle of Spring and maybe this year Mother Nature's running a little bit late - perhaps November will be stormier than October? In fact there's always a heightened risk of damaging tornados in October and November.
But more short term - what's happening this weekend? Well a cold front zipping up the country during Saturday will bring a colder southerly change - especially to southern and eastern areas. Daytime highs may well be down, by as much as 10 degrees in some areas as the colder air moves through. For those who hate the cold the good news is that a nor'wester will return in the far south during Sunday and work its way up the nation by early next week.
In fact next week is looking like it could be a stormy one as a squeeze zone develops over much of the country - Wednesday at this stage looks stormy across much of New Zealand with heavy rain for the West Coast and hot, dry, winds for the east coast. Will have more details about that on Monday.
Apart from the Cambridge tornado the weather has really fallen from the headlines recently as the elections - both here in New Zealand and overseas in America - take centre stage.
Speaking of politics, I am so relieved the Government has decided not to go ahead with the water restriction for showers! I had an entire blog written in my head about it! I wanted to ask "since when did New Zealand have a water shortage?" and comment on "when the drought hit earlier this year kiwis did a great job at conserving water". In fact, I have to say, as an Aucklander I don't need a shower head that limits water flow to help me conserve water. What really motivates me to conserve water is the utter fear that once we drain our reservoirs around Auckland they can flick a switch and we're suddenly bathing and drinking in 100% Waikato River water! Have you driven past that river lately? It's not something I'd love to drink. I know it's a lot cleaner than it used to be - but still!
Anyway, no need for me to have a rant about water conservation. We should all play our part to conserve water but the shower head idea was simply insane.
Have a great weekend - and keep the comments and photos coming. Speaking of photos - if you have any weather photos of the Cambridge tornado or just any general weather photos (and they can be pxts from your mobile phone too!) then please email them to me at wwphotos@radionetwork.co.nz
You can also send photos to the NZHerald.
Philip Duncan
Pictured above: A roof of a house has been destroyed. Photo / Andy Smith
For the latest weather news keep up to date with The Radio Network's new Weather Watch Centre or the NZ Herald weather section.
