Five-hundred lightning strikes have been detected near the Coromandel Peninsula since midnight. Photo / MetService
Five-hundred lightning strikes have been detected near the Coromandel Peninsula since midnight. Photo / MetService
A heavy rain warning has been issued for the Coromandel and Gisborne with risks of surface flooding after cold temperatures hit large parts of the country.
Over 500 strikes of lightning have hit the Coromandel since midnight last night and a tree has blocked the district’s state highway.
New Zealand awoke to chilly temperatures this morning as winter begins to rear its head, with some regions hit with overnight sub-zero chills.
This created a threat of icy roads - while other parts of the country had a cold shock following warmer weather.
Meanwhile, MetService confirmed the Coromandel Peninsula is expecting up to 120mm of rain from lunchtime today, while parts of northern Gisborne should expect the same from this evening.
A heavy rain warning has been issued for the Coromandel and Gisborne with risks of surface flooding. Photo / Mike Scott
The storms were already making themselves present in the Coromandel last night, according to MetService, with 500 lightning strikes recorded over the Coromandel Peninsula since midnight.
Its data revealed most strikes were recorded as moderate, between 90m and 120m off the ground.
A tree has reportedly fallen in the Coromandel district on the top of Kūaotunu hill, according to the local council. It’s currently blocking the southbound lane on State Highway 25.
Meanwhile, Colville Road is impassable between Amodeo Bay and Papa Aroha due to a slip.
At 7am today Lake Pukaki was the coldest place to be in the country with temperatures of -5.2°C. Neighbouring Lake Tekapo wasn’t much warmer at -4.6°C.
Those living in Auckland will have noticed a particularly big drop in temperature last night, after the recent warm weather that’s followed generally miserable summer weather.
Whilst last night’s low was only 11°C - which lines up with the month’s average - MetService’s Mmathapelo Makgabutlane noted the drop in temperature would feel much colder for residents given the city’s “temperate climate”.
But things were a little more dramatic in the country’s south, as Queenstown hit as low as -2.4°C last night and neighbouring Wanaka -2°C overnight.
Snow in the Crown Range on Sunday. Photo / George Heard
It’s left a high risk of black ice across the Lakes’ District roading network, and fog around Alexandra and Cromwell is contributing to tough driving conditions for early commuters.
Crown Range Rd in particular has been hit with spots of black ice, according to Queenstown’s District Council.
The cold has carried through into the morning as a collective of Mt Cook, Alexandra and Queenstown were all colder than -2°C as the chills continued into the morning.
The West Coast was also hit with brisk lows last night. Hokitika’s overnight low was 1.4°C. Blenheim locals tried to keep warm last night as the low hit -0.7°C and Marlborough was much the same,
Otago was, as usual in June, a cold place to be last night with Dunedin Airport measuring -2.6C and the Canterbury towns of Timaru and Ashburton recording 0.9°C.
At this stage, MetService hasn’t learned of any further snowfall in the country overnight after the King’s Birthday cold front across the inland South Island.
Snow hit the Crown Range on Sunday after the weather forecaster predicted up to 10cm of white dusting to settle on the road near the summit.
The North Island’s central inland regions of Taupō and the central plateau were cold overnight, parts of the district only climbed to 2°C last night and the city itself measured 9°C - which is typical for June.
However, the island’s coastal districts - particularly those affected by Cyclone Gabrielle - can expect a strong dump of rain in the next 48 hours according to NIWA, which forecasts one month’s worth of rainfall by the end of Tuesday in certain parts.
As of 11pm Tuesday, up to 200mm of rain is expected to have arrived in parts of the Coromandel and Hawkes Bay, increasing the likelihood of flooding and slips.
Further south we’re yet to learn if yesterday’s Cook Strait troubles will be repeated in scheduled ferry crossings between Wellington and Picton.
Yesterday’s poor weather conditions on the Strait and at Picton Port meant ferry operator Bluebridge cancelled two of its ferry crossings, at 1.30pm and 7.15pm.
The Feronia crossing was expected to resume at 2am from Wellington this morning.
Niwa meteorologist Ben Noll said the chilly weather was a sign of what was to come, in what would be a very different winter to our last few record-warm ones.
“This is very much in contrast with what we were experiencing last winter, which was frequent northerlies,” he said.
“Whether you’re stepping outside in Northland or Southland, you’ll certainly feel that difference in the air – and that southerly wind will be biting a little bit harder.”
With skifields soon to open, those colder temperatures were providing a big part of the mix that operators needed.
“Given that we’re looking at a persistent southerly pattern for the next 10 to 20 days – especially in the South Island, where high pressure is going to be dominant – I’d think [snow-making] conditions are going to be pretty good, even though it’s dry so you’re still not setting up that natural snow to fall.”
A forming El Nino was predicted to bring more cooler, drier days later this winter, with more southwesterly winds.
Yet, in historical terms, a colder-than-average winter was unlikely: largely because of the warming trend of climate change, but also the lagging influence of a faded La Nina still hanging about.
Noll said sea surface temperatures were also still running warmer than average – something that was helping to modify parcels of colder air travelling up from the south.
“The prevalence if these marine heatwave conditions are really helping to shrink the winter.”
