Nature lines up NZ for stormy king hit
It’s a cracking start to 2018 as the MetService warns thunderstorms could become severe in the North Island and the country may experience higher-than-normal tides.
A severe thunderstorm watch for much of the North Island was issued yesterday, with the MetService expecting heavy rain to be accompanied by flooding and potential slips.
MetService meteorologist April Clark said there was also ‘‘a chance for waves to come in quite a lot higher than normal’’.
Meanwhile, more stormy weather was heading for New Zealand later in the week, she said.
‘‘What we have coming up is a rapidly developing low that’s currently forming in the north, then moving over the North Island from Thursday.’’
Northland through to the Bay of Plenty were ‘‘very exposed’’ areas, Clark said, and would be the most vulnerable to high tides.
The low was expected to progress south later in the week, as far as Christchurch, before moving east and away from the country. ‘‘Late Friday and Saturday is when the worst will happen for the upper South Island.’’
A super ‘‘wolf moon’’ was to light up the sky last night. Niwa forecaster Chris Brandolino said the combination of the low and the supermoon could adversely affect the weather, but it was a matter of timing.
‘‘If you get a significant weather event that happens to align itself with a king tide, that’s when it can exacerbate the problems. And the arrival of this unusually strong low-pressure weather system at the time of the highest king tides for 2018 is a reason for concern for areas that are prone to flooding,’’ he said.
‘‘The ingredients are all there, it’s just whether or not they happen at the right time. If the two come together and it’s also a low tide, it won’t be such a big deal.’’
The highest king tides are expected to hit Nelson, Tasman, Christchurch, and the west coast of Auckland on January 4, and the east coast of Auckland on January 5.