> From the WeatherWatch archives
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
– Large high moving over new Zealand for 3 days.
– Polar air from the weekends storm will now be felt
– Severe frosts for many regions
We all know when we get a polar storm, like the one we’ve been getting since last Thursday, that snow and gales and bitterly cold temperatures are all part of the package. But a lot of people don’t actually think about WHAT has just happened.
Pretend for a moment that you have a large bath and in it is a big sponge, in the shape of New Zealand. At the south end of the bath the water is cold… around the sponge it’s warm… and to the north the water is hot. Now imagine you’re standing where the Chatham Islands are… and using your hand scoop cold water from the south up and over New Zealand.
That is pretty much what has been happening over the past 5 days. The Low, like a gigantic scoop, has been pulling cold air from Antarctica and pushing it across New Zealand. With the warming action from the wind blowing overnight lows are kept relatively warm. Friction does that. But when the wind stops the cold polar air finally has a chance to settle.
So welcome to: Severe frosts. Thanks to a large high spreading over us for the next two nights, overnight lows will be dipping down to minus 3 or 4 in places like Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Central Plateau and pretty much the entire South Island. In fact in the South, some inland farms may see intense frosts of minus 8 or 9 or 10.
We may even see frosts in Auckland – that’s enough to bring the motorways to a halt… well, if they were moving in the first place.
So get your heaters out, stoke the fires, grab the electric blankets, and enjoy some good old winter weather. The only places escaping the frosts – Northland and the North Island’s East Coast.
OTHER WEATHER HEADLINES:
– A new storm forms east of Australia… the third one in 2 weeks and like the others, it’ll move our way.
– Heavy rain on the way for northern regions of both islands this weekend.
– And warmer temperatures return to most by the weekend.
‘Weather’ you’re interested…
Feel like Summer isn’t long enough in NZ? Well…you’re right – it isn’t! In fact, thanks to the earth’s oval shaped orbit around the sun, summers are actually 7 days SHORTER in the Southern Hemisphere than the Northern Hemisphere.
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Before you add a new comment, take note this story was published on 25 Jun 2007.
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