RE: weather in New Zealand.

[Mark]

Ski resorts across the Southern Hemisphere are having a ‘great season’ with ‘massive snowstorms dumping feet of snow on the mountains’, reports snowbrains.com.

The New Zealand ski season has been one for the record books, according to unofficialnetworks.com, and a number of ski areas are struggling to stay open with all the new snow.

Mt Lyford Ski Area has been forced to close once again after receiving feet upon feet of record-setting accumulations.

The resort, located near Christchurch on NZ’s South Island, announced the ‘bad news’ on social media:

 

SORRY. We tried. We are not going to make opening today. There is just too much snow on our road, the visibility is not improving. The lifts also have a good amount of rime ice on them so we will be spending the rest of the day getting everything sorted for a sunny Saturday with plenty of pow.
https://electroverse.co/too-much-snow-closes-nz-ski-resort-rare-cool-down-sweeps-uae-and-oman-quiet-atlantic-hurricane-season/

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[Mark]

New Zealand’s southern ski fields are lapping up the high visitor numbers and will stay open an extra week thanks to a healthy covering of snow.

Coronet Peak and Treble Cone have decided to give themselves an extra week, and will close on Oct 2.

Coronet Peak general manager Nigel Kerr said the decision was an easy one: “We’ve had a boomer of a season, there is no doubt about it, the 75th year is going to be very memorable one for snowfall and the amount of skiers up the hill, among other things.”

Kerr concluded: “It is very close to a record season if not, it certainly it has been our best season in quite some time.”



Coronet Peak is looking at a record-breaking “boomer season”.

Looking ahead, and across the country, MetService has warned New Zealanders to brace themselves for the “coldest week of the year” as record-challenging, sub-zero temperatures, additional snowfall, and heavy rain are readying to strike.

Lows of -8.1C, -6C and -5.7C have already been logged Manapouri, Lumsden, and Alexandra, respectively–on Monday–and there’s much more to come, warned MetService in a tweet:
https://electroverse.co/snow-western-australia-boomer-season-keeps-new-zealand-ski-fields-open-brits-braced-for-winter-blackouts/

[Mark]

“HYPOTHERMIA RISK” IN NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) is warning there will be a real hypothermia risk for people and livestock this week as an fierce blast of polar cold invades from the south.

Nearly all eastern and southern lowland areas of the South Island will have an “effective temperature” (a reading which takes into account wind chill and humidity, as well as the normal air temp) of between -5C (23F) and -15C (5F) early Thursday morning, according to NIWA, which will prove record-breaking for many.

https://electroverse.co/dangerous-sunspot-glitch-in-the-matrix-cold-sweden-hypothermia-risk-nz-global-temp-drops/

[Mark]

“ONE-IN-50-YEAR FROST” DECIMATES NZ BLUEBERRY CROP
the entirety of New Zealand –that’s both islands– has been suffering ‘a year without a spring’ in 2022.

Following a warm winter, spring is now stalling, completely failing to spring.

Due to a weak and wavy ‘meridional’ jet stream flow –itself caused by low solar activity/Earth’s waning magnetic field– a string of polar air masses have escaped the Antarctic ice sheet and have been tail-whipped north over NZ, and also Australia.

Record lows and historic snows have gripped the region in recent weeks, prompting snowfall warnings and calls for farmers to protect young livestock–ironically.

The latest out-of-season freeze has impacted crops, too, including blueberry orchards.

After sleepless, frosty nights –that saw thermometers plunge to a record-busting -5C (23F)– a Waikato family watched their blueberry crops dying in front of their eyes.

As reported by sunlive.co.nz, Monavale Blueberries, New Zealand’s largest certified organic blueberry orchard, should be full of white flowering bushes and the deafening hum of bees at this time of year. However, a “one-in-50-year” frost has left the shrubs brown, the bees vanished and an estimated 300 tonnes of potential produce destroyed — some 90% of the crop.

“We have never seen anything like this,” said third-generation orchard manger Oliver de Groot.

MetService data confirms this, revealing that -2.9C (26.8F) was the previous coldest October reading on record (since 1972).

“We are all very upset by it,” continued de Groot. “We did what we could and there is nothing else we could have done to prevent it … We grow over 40 varieties of blueberries. The main reason, if an event like this happens we have some that are protected.”

This freeze was so hard that barely anything made it.

Even two helicopters flying from midnight to sunrise couldn’t circulate the air fast enough to keep it above 0C.

“If the frost had been light they may have been able to save more berries,” said de Groot. “However, it got down to -5C (23F) at ground level,” which, for the young, blossoming berries proved devastating.

This cold-induced misery isn’t just confined to the Waikato District.

Far from it.

As Blueberry New Zealand manager Rob Silberbauer reveals, “The general consensus from growers is that they’ve lost between 90 – 100 percent of their rabbiteye crop, and around 40 – 60 percent of their high bush crop.”

Silberbauer said the organisation is trying to help provide growers with technical and emotional support.
https://electroverse.co/cold-paraguay-record-lows-bismark-and-parkersburg-delhi-shivers-frost-decimates-nz-blueberry-crop/

[Mark]

Queenstown experienced a record-breaking winter, with visitor spending significantly higher than in pre-Covid-19 ski seasons thanks, largely, to an abundance of snow, according to data from marketing agency Destination Queenstown.

Destination Queenstown chief executive Mat​ Woods said the season started with one of the best snowfalls seen in June for a generation, and that it continued to fall thick and fast as the season went on.

From opening day through to closing, conditions were the best he could remember, said Woods.

Likewise, Cardrona Alpine Resort and Treble Cone general manager Laura Hedley said the ski areas experienced wall-to-wall snow over the entire winter.

While NZSki chief executive Paul Anderson confirmed that the June snowfall at the Remarkables and Coronet Peak was one for the history books, with locals describing it as the best snow in at least 30 years.

“It kick-started a bumper season for us in terms of conditions, visitation numbers and open days,” said Anderson.
https://electroverse.co/spring-chills-south-america-russia-dips-below-30c-great-snow-new-zealand-australia-nov-cold/

[Mark]

After a day of thunderstorms, two massive waterspouts were spotted off Auckland's coastline near Takapuna and also Piha.

Local Aisling Doyle was shocked when she saw one of the waterspouts arching towards land on Sunday afternoon.

"Suddenly, there was a massive funnel coming to the ground between it all. We'd just finished watching a documentary on storms - so we were like, woah! There's one in real life," she said.

"It went for about four seconds after I spotted it. I was at Birkenhead point looking out towards Takapuna."

https://www.sott.net/article/474456-Two-huge-waterspouts-swirl-off-Aucklands-coast-after-thunderstorms-in-New-Zealand

Local Georgina Packer​ caught the waterspout just as it was forming.

"It formed pretty quick, and it grew bigger and bigger and then started to move along - there was a boat there, which must have gunned it and got out of the way pretty quick.

"It was the weirdest thing. I've never seen anything like it at all. It was actually a bit scary," she said.

[Mark]

https://electroverse.co/coldest-ever-wind-chill-australias-summer-snow-extends-to-new-zealand-m7-8-strikes-turkey/

AUSTRALIA’S SUMMER SNOW EXTENDS TO NEW ZEALAND,
Australia’s rare February snow, which turned the nation’s ski fields into a “winter wonderland in summer”, according to the ABC, has now arrived in New Zealand with on/off unseasonal flurries sweeping the country’s Southern Alps.

A foot settled Sunday at Mt Cook, Aoraki — this after the mountain posted its deepest snowpack on record last winter.





Looking ahead, both South and North islands can expect a stark cooldown during the latter half of this week as a mass of Antarctic air gets ‘tail-whipped’ over the entire country.

Returning to Australia, with the nation’s easing snow and clearing skies came plummeting temperatures.

A host of new monthly cold records were toppled across the east, in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania: New February lows were set in Pastoral, SA; Agricultural, SA; Lower North, SA; Southwest Plains, NSW; CW Plains, NSW; CW Slopes, NSW; Winmmera, VIC; Gippsland, VIC; N Peninsula, QLD; as well as a host across Tasmania — to name a handful.

[Mark]

While on the other side of the world, Ian Griffin photographed the display from New Zealand:





“What an epic night!” said Griffin.

“There was an absolutely amazing display of Southern Lights over Hoopers Inlet on the Otago Peninsula. A clear sky and no wind made for simply beautiful reflections. I’ve just got home after being up all night with the biggest grin ever on my face!”

Formed by electrically charged particles colliding with gas molecules in Earth’s upper atmosphere, auroras are typically confined to high-latitude regions around the Arctic and Antarctic. For them to be sweep southern England, for example, is very rare.

https://electroverse.co/auroras-barcelona-under-snow-ca-record-snow-greenland-smb-spikes-antarctica-cools/

[Mark]

Another long-running climate record might be about to fall in New Zealand – and for once, it’s not a bad thing.

August has been so unusually chilly, compared with what we’ve come to expect in our climate-warmed winters, that it may prove the first month in more than six years to finish with a below-average nationwide temperature.

This pattern break – still to be confirmed, with four days of August left to run – signals the arrival of our first El Niño in seven years, and the typically cooler winter flavours the big climate pattern brings us.

But it also points to the fact a fast-heating planet has been shifting our climate state to a new normal, where the colder averages we recall from just a few decades ago become increasingly unlikely.

The last time New Zealand happened to log a month that came in below Niwa’s 30-year average temperature baseline was May 2017 - some 74 months ago.

https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/other/analysis-why-chilly-august-might-prove-nz-s-first-below-average-month-in-six-years/ar-AA1fRlYB?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=34acaf904e4d45229629cf529467e77e&ei=17

[Mark]

HEAVY SNOW REVIVES NEW ZEALAND’S RUAPEHU RESORT
New Zealand’s Ruapehu ski field has been blasted with healthy dumpings of snow. Record snow, in fact, has crowned the North Island mountain, according to 1news.co.nz: Ruapehu is boasting the world’s deepest snow base, at 2.55cm (8.4ft).

This is a stark turnaround from events last year when the resort was closed  — a closure which was effectively on course to liquidate the business until the NZ government stepped in with a $5 million “lifeline”.

Looking forward, Ruapehu Chief Operating Officer Travis Donaghue said the best days of the season are yet to come.

“We’ll keep rolling that title out [World’s Deepest Snow Base] for a while yet, we have a long season to come. It runs right through to Labour weekend so we’re not yet halfway,” said Donaghue.

“We tend to have great conditions later in the year when we don’t see as many frosts so this base will set us up perfectly.”
https://electroverse.info/new-zealand-snow-alberta-first-snowfall-low-sunspot-count/

[Mark]

OCTOBER THREATENS POLAR BLASTS ACROSS BOTH HEMISPHERES
Looking at the charts, the standard ‘transitional periods’ for each hemisphere are forecast to be marked by cold.

Starting in the southern hemisphere, New Zealand is already copping a full-blown polar blast this week, though swathes of Australia could join it by October 3 or 4, according to latest GFS runs:



GFS 2m Temperature Anomalies (C) for Oct 3 – 5 [tropicaltidbits.com].

Similarly for Southern Africa, after mid-Sept’s record-breaking cold, another ‘whip’ of Antarctic air has been gripping the region this week (fig 1), with something of a repeat potentially on the cards during the first few days of October (fig 2):
https://electroverse.info/freeze-ruins-canadas-apple-picking-cold-weather-deaths-oct-polar-blasts/

[Mark]

New Zealand Nears Record Low Temperature
Thermometers in Whanganui dropped to 4C (39.2F) Wednesday morning, making for the city's second-coldest March reading on record.

Whanganui, located on the West coast of New Zealand's North Island, averages a March minimum of 12.8C (55F). Its coldest-ever March low remains the 2.5C (36.5F) set March 28, 1985 (solar minimum of cycle 21). Weather books date back to 1978.

This part of the world is forecast further shivers as the month progresses.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/new-zealand-nears-record-low-temperature

[Mark]

With a low of -1C (30.2F), Christchurch posted its second-coldest March temperature on Friday in books dating to 1954. Only the -1.3C (29.7F) of March 18, 2020 is colder.

The likes of Blenheim and Wellington also notched abnormally frigid readings, of 1C and 7C (33.8F and 44.6F) respectively.

"It has been an unusually cool March," said MetService meteorologist Ngaire Wotherspoon.

"We are looking at further cool temperatures for the rest of Easter ... cold overnight temperatures, especially for the North Island ... getting down to 4C and 5C (39.2F and 41F) even around Taupō and Whakatāne," Wotherspoon added.

Most of the South Island endured single-digits (C).

The fourth-consecutive overnight flurry of snow hit the South Island's higher reaches.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/unusually-cool-march-in-new-zealand

[Mark]

March was a cold one across New Zealand.

More than 25 locations experienced record or near-record low mean temperatures for March, according to the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), with 28 locations setting records for overnight minimum temperatures.

The cooler month was "driven by a double-barrel low pressure anomaly south and east of New Zealand working in tandem with a high pressure area in the Tasman Sea to produce a southwesterly wind flow anomaly across the country," explained NIWA.

Overall, and despite the rug-swept Urban Heat Island effect, last month saw a mean temperature of 14.8C (58.6F) across New Zealand, which was 0.99C below the multidecadal average and made for the country's coldest March since 2012.

Many parts felt an early onset of autumn, wrote NIWA in its March climate summary,
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/new-zealands-record-cold-march-antarctica

[Mark]

Spade-toothed whales are the world's rarest, with no live sightings ever recorded. No one knows how many there are, what they eat, or even where they live in the vast expanse of the southern Pacific Ocean. However, scientists in New Zealand may have finally caught a break.

The country's conservation agency said Monday a creature that washed up on a South Island beach this month is believed to be a spade-toothed whale. The five-meter-long creature, a type of beaked whale, was identified after it washed ashore on an Otago beach from its color patterns and the shape of its skull, beak and teeth.

"We know very little, practically nothing" about the creatures, Hannah Hendriks, marine technical adviser for the Department of Conservation, said. "This is going to lead to some amazing science and world-first information."

If the cetacean is confirmed to be the elusive spade-toothed whale, it would be the first specimen found in a state that would permit scientists to dissect it, allowing them to map the relationship of the whale to the few others of the species found, learn what it eats and perhaps lead to clues about where they live.
https://www.sott.net/article/493162-Worlds-rarest-whale-may-have-washed-up-

[Mark]

Invercargill has smashed its July temperature record by almost 2C as a lingering high promises settled weather for most of the country through the weekend.

A southerly blast is still lining up the mainland early next week - with snow expected in parts of Canterbury, Otago and Southland - but it was the sunshine and relative warmth that were grabbing attention today.

In Invercargill, the temperature reached 18.6C at the airport between 2pm and 3pm.

“It actually smashed its previous record,” MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris told the Herald, crediting a northwesterly windflow over the southern South Island for the balmy temperatures.

“And it’s not a short record there, it goes back to 1948.”


The former record in a city where the average daytime July high is about 10C was 16.7C, set in 2013, Ferris said.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/record-high-temperature-for-invercargill-settled-weekend-weather-as-southerly-blast-looms/GTTVF4VY6BADRFLAIZ6EO4NSMM/

[Mark]

Crowds descended upon Canterbury's ski fields for a "perfect snow day" on Friday, with Mt Hutt drawing over 3,000 skiers and snowboarders alone. "Today is the day we’ve been waiting for!" wrote Porters Alpine Resort on its website.

Fresh snowfall this week has revitalized South Island ski fields, and as the weather cleared, skiers hit the slopes in their droves.

Heavy blowing snow had caused significant disruptions across the region, with areas such as Fairlie, Hanmer Springs, and parts of Canterbury, all blanketed white, before the flakes shifted towards Marlborough.

Owing to the conditions, multiple severe weather warnings were issued, including for North Canterbury which was put under an orange warning for heavy snow.

As of Friday, all facilities at Mt Hutt Ski Area, Porters Alpine Resort, and Mt Dobson were operational, with access roads cleared.



Mt Hutt cleared access roads.

Mt Hutt general manager James Urquhart had anticipated a large turnout, but Friday’s crowd "exceeded our expectations."

"This is our busiest day of the season. It seems like everyone in Canterbury took the day off," he added "There’s a lot of excitement on the slopes today."

New Zealand Ski chief executive Paul Anderson remarked that Thursday was also an “amazing day” with decent snow bases reported across the South Island after the most-recent 24-hour storm, including the 83 cm (32.7 inches) at Mt Hutt.



"Epic snowstorm hits Mt Hutt," reports unofficialnetworks.com.

Meteorologist Alwyn Bakker explained that a high-pressure system was now over much of the South Island, keeping skies clear and the temperatures low. Mt Dobson is noting -7C (19.4F), while Mt Hutt, slightly cloudy, is seeing -4.6C (23.7F).

"A lot of ski fields received a substantial snowfall from the recent storm," said Bakker. "The low temperatures are helping to preserve the snow, making it a great time for skiing."



Clear skies and biting lows at Mt Hutt.

This reality calls into question the myriad of predictions calling for catastrophic glacial demise in New Zealand.

One prominent forecast claims that a significant number of glaciers on NZ’s South Island will have completely melted by 2030.

“In a decade, we predict that many of our beloved and important glaciers will be gone," said NIWA principal scientist Andrew Lorrey in 2022. "This will have far reaching impacts, such as altering our beautiful landscape, affecting the livelihoods of people who rely on these natural wonders for tourism, and flow on effects from decreased meltwater during periods of drought."
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/heavy-snow-hits-new-zealand-chilean

[Mark]

By Stuff
Joanne Naish
10:44am Oct 4, 2024

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A state of emergency was declared for the New Zealand city of Dunedin as it has its wettest day in more than 100 years.
"I didn't expect the event to be of this magnitude," city mayor Jules Radich said on Friday morning.
According to NIWA, Dunedin's Musselburgh station recorded its second-wettest day on record with almost 131mm in the 24 hours to 9am today local time (6am AEST). The last time it was at least this wet in Musselburgh was in April 1923.
READ MORE: Dad slugged with $25k defamation bill over Facebook post he didn't write
Dunedin flood
About 22 roads are closed to flooding around Dunedin. (RNZ)
Residents in low-lying parts of Dunedin, including in South Dunedin, were worst hit by "significant surface flooding" overnight.
A whopping 143mm of rain fell in Dunedin between 4pm on Wednesday to 8am Friday - more than twice the normal rainfall for October of 60mm.
Residents were urged to keep off the roads due to potential slips and surface flooding as another 40mm to 60mm of rain was expected to fall in Dunedin up until 11pm Friday.
https://www.9news.com.au/world/wettest-day-100-years-dunedin-new-zealand-streets-flooded/5b8b899b-7155-4e60-b162-e5f6e580356d

[Mark]

A rare, heavy dumping of snow over the weekend has left New Zealand's Mt Hutt ski field covered in nearly a meter (3.3 feet) of fresh powder, sparking talks about a potential late-season reopening.

The unexpected storm delivered severe weather to much of the country, with the South Island experiencing particularly intense snow. Mt Hutt saw one of the heaviest October snowfalls on record, even more impressive when you consider its nearly November.

Ski area manager, James McKenzie, shared the remarkable conditions with Morning Report, calling it "one of the biggest snowfalls in October" he’d witnessed in his 20 years on the mountain.

"It would have been perfect to get this snow back in June," said McKenzie, speaking to the unusual timing. And although the ski field did recently close up shop for the season, there were hints of a potential reopening: "We wouldn’t rule anything out," McKenzie added, though he stressed they would first need to ensure safe access to the field after such a heavy accumulation.

Currently, snow drifts of up to five meters (16.4 feet) blanket parts of the access road, complicated by avalanche debris that workers must first navigate and then clear before any late-season skiing might resume.
https://electroverse.substack.com/p/mt-hutt-nz-could-reopen-after-a-meter

[Mark]

Ripu Bhatia
Stuff
Tue, 03 Dec 2024 13:39 UTC
mmmmmm
One of the world's rarest flowers is in the process of blooming at Auckland Zoo.

Amorphophallus titanum, or the corpse flower of Sumatra, Indonesia, is one of the largest flowers in the plant kingdom and only flowers once every seven to ten years.

The flower blooms for just two to three days, sometimes even less, and once fully opened emits a powerful stench to attract pollinators.

The unique specimen stands nearly two meters tall in its pot and is on display in the South East Asia Jungle Track's high canopy habitat, Auckland Zoo said.

It is usually based in the Indonesian swamp forest exhibition, which is a climate-controlled tropical drone, but this is currently closed for upgrades.

The zoo said it can't guarantee how long the flower is going to bloom for as individual specimens can vary.
https://www.sott.net/article/496481-Rare-corpse-flower-blooming-at-Auckland-Zoo-New-Zealand