Lynley Bilby
The weather in 2017 was topsy-turvy as snow fell in summer and winter was one of our warmest ever, writes
January’s icy blast
We were just a few weeks into the new year when the first major storm struck the country.
A weather bomb wreaked havoc across both islands bringing destructive gales, extensive flooding and widespread travel disruption.
It hit the West Coast of the South Island on January 18 before sweeping up the country over several days.
Temperatures took a wintry turn as the wild weather moved in. It was so cold 30cm of fresh snow coated Cardrona ski field in the middle of summer.
Everywhere in the South Island plummeted below 10C and even the North Island shivered on wintry temperatures with Masterton recording 8C and Taupo 9C.
Hurricane-strength winds of up to 160km/h pummelled the North Island disrupting transport, blowing out windows and lifting roofs.
Thousands were left in the dark as trees toppled powerlines and caused serious accidents, including a car crushed by a falling tree on Auckland’s Southern Motorway.
A swathe of highways across the country were blocked by slips and floods with the widespread storm costing $8.6m in insurance claims.
March storms
Autumn was a month of extremes with the upper half of the North Island hit by three major storms in quick succession including the remnants of two tropical cyclones. At the same time parts of the South Island
Hwere far drier than normal.
The first storm — dubbed the Tasman Tempest — struck in the first week of March leaving many parts of Auckland underwater and stranding hundreds of school children on camps in the Hunua Ranges and Coromandel.
A month’s worth of rain fell in 48 hours soaking eastern and southern Auckland and the Coromandel.
The phenomenal deluge, which struck in the dead of night, cut off communities as roads across the regions disappeared under water.
Emergency evacuations involving the army began before daybreak as a torrent of water swept through Camp Adair at the foot of Auckland’s Hunua Ranges.
The worst affected areas included Auckland’s southeastern suburbs Papakura, Clevedon, Beachlands, Maraetai and Waiheke Island. Stormy weather across the Auckland region broke record rain levels, caused widespread flooding, slips, blocked roads and tore signs off buildings, damaged power lines and drowned livestock.
As the mop-up got up under way a final afternoon burst of rain flooded around 50 homes in West Auckland with roads turning to rivers. The downpour was so intense a culvert collapsed in New Lynn near a set of shops.
The five days of flooding across the upper North Island left a whopping $61.7m insurance bill. Watch the video at nzherald.co.nz
April’s Cyclone Debbie
The autumnal weather chaos continued as the remnants of Cyclone Debbie lashed the North Island in early April.
The country was put on high alert as the large storm moved in with virtually no region escaping the wrath of the tropical torrent.
Many regions, already dealing with saturated land from the Tasman Tempest, were drenched by the torrential rain causing homes to flood, roads to disappear underwater and cutting power to thousands.
A state of emergency was declared