Large waves, surges expected with Gita
A storm that lashed the Pacific Islands this week is expected to weaken in intensity as it approaches New Zealand, but still pack a punch.
Metservice expects the remnants of Cyclone Gita will still bring a ‘‘significant storm’’ to the country from the northwest over the next few days.
Gita is tipped to bring with it waves of up to 12 metres and storm surges in some low-lying coastal areas in central New Zealand.
MetService meteorologist Josh Griffin said areas north of Canterbury would be under watch from this morning.
People can also expect heavy rains and severe gales possibly exceeding 120kmph, he said.
The storm is expected to make landfall on Tuesday or Wednesday, but that could change depending on its current ‘‘speed and track’’.
Griffin said to expect a reasonably strong storm as it moves from a tropical cyclone to an ex-tropical cyclone in cooler New Zealand waters.
‘‘The whole structure of the storm changes. The winds, instead of being compact around the centre, they spread out over a broader area.’’
Griffin said the public should secure loose items and be sure to keep up-to-date on any new developments via the media or metservice.com.
Heavy rains could create the potential for rapidly rising streams and rivers and flooding.
Forecasters warned against being complacent ahead of the late-summer storm.
The sweltering summer has played havoc with seasonal fruit and vegetable timetables.
Now, it’s even thought to be causing wild mushrooms to blossom months earlier than normal.
The potassium filled fungus, which is about 90 per cent water and doesn’t need sunlight to grow, traditionally sprouts during autumn. But due to the intense rain La Nina has produced there has been a proliferation of the spongey, vitamin-filled food popping up.
Taranaki resident Helen Beard has already picked three or four bucketfuls, after the savoury product starting to appear at the start of summer.
‘‘They just come up in a day. We’ve had quite a few so far.
‘‘I love collecting them, going for the walk. It’s quite good coming home from work and going pottering through the paddocks.’’
Tim Thornewell of Gourmet Mushrooms, which produces DIY kits for growing your own mushrooms, said that he had seen field mushrooms sprouting much earlier than usual in Whangarei.
‘‘It’s normally March or even April,’’ he said.
‘‘Normally, of course, we don’t get a lot of rain, and the soil doesn’t actually retain the moisture – it evaporates pretty quickly.’’
Landcare Research lead researcher Bevan Weir said autumn usually had the prime conditions for mushroom appearance, which were warmth and moisture, but he had seen a few while he was in Dunedin last week.
It was too soon to say the early mushrooms were something to do with climate change, he said.
Peter Buchanan, also from Landcare Research, recommended people familiarise themselves with different types of mushrooms if they planned to eat them, particularly if picking them out of season.