New Zealand winter has arrived with a vengeance! Big storm affecting the whole country.steemCreated with Sketch.

in #newzealand7 years ago

Last winter was comparatively mild and dry, but this year has already been much colder and wetter. And it’s been a while since we’ve had a storm like this.

We’re used to wind in Wellington, Especially icy cold southerlies that feel like they’ve come direct from Antarctica. We’re used to our house shaking so much that it feels like an earthquake. But today does seem especially bad.

On my way home on Tuesday night, I stocked up on some groceries so we didn’t have to leave the house for a few days – the perks of working from home. So we are hibernating. Here are a couple of photos taken by @sift666 from our bedroom window.

weather1.jpg

weather2.jpg

Yesterday, it was very cold, wet and windy. In the South Island, many places were in the minuses, but we don’t tend to get that low in Wellington, being close to the sea and generally very windy. But add in the wind chill factor, and it really is most unpleasant. At one point we had hail, which is about the coldest it gets here. Parts of our house that are unheated are about 10C.

Today, if anything the wind is stronger, with sustained winds at one point up to 125 km and gusts of over 140 km. The last storm this strong was 4 years ago, when we had an enormous tree come down in our back yard. That was claimed to be the worst storm since 1968 when a ship called the Wahine sank in Wellington Harbour.

There have been power cuts, the ferry sailings have been cancelled, but astonishingly some flights are still going out of Wellington airport. In other parts of the North Island, there has been flooding and some road closures.

Here are some photos from news website www.stuff.co.nz. The first two are of Lyall Bay, which is our local beach, only 15 minutes walk away.

Lyall Bay 3.jpg

Lyall Bay 2.jpg

This one is from the suburb of Seatoun. I have to wonder how far the wind carried that trampoline.

Seatoun.jpg

And this one is from the other side of the harbour.

Lowry Bay.jpg

My niece lives in Masterton, in the Wairarapa region, a couple of hours drive north of here. This photo is her street. Her car is full of water, up to the level of the seats.

Jones Place.jpg

And another photo from the Wairarapa.

near Martinborough.jpg

As the storm moves north, we can expect winds to start dying down later today. But we still have some torrential rain to look forward to, just starting to get heavier now.

And just to top it all off, I’ve been feeling very seedy, with a sore, raw throat. Tomorrow I might post about what I’m doing to help that. But for now, I might go for a nice lie down in front of a heater.

On a brighter note, here’s a photo @sift666 a few days ago took of a lone flower on our camellia bush. Remarkably, after all this bad weather, the brave flower is still hanging in there!

IMG_1042-02.jpeg

Thanks for reading

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Some of my previous posts about life in NZ:

My Intro
Are there kiwis in the house?
My grandmother’s legacy
Steemit in downtown Wellington
Observations from a bus
News on the NZ earthquake
More news on the NZ quake
Earthquake aftermath
The NZ Prime Minister just resigned!
Wearable Arts Award Show
First day of the Wellington summer
Singing carols with the NZ Symphony Orchestra PLUS my best loved Christmas music
60 years of my favourite music – Kiwi classics
My choir singing on the streets of Wellington
Presenting to a Parliamentary Committee about proposed new legislation
Voices from the Front – a story of Gallipoli
Some New Zealand music for Anzac Day
RIP Kiwi comedian John Clarke aka Fred Dagg
Wellington Blockchain meetup + Updated Steemit Kiwis list + NZ meetup

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still raining up here :) and cold...brrrgghh

A nice warming lamb stew for dinner?

All the Citizen Must Be Cautious as the Situation may Worsen.. Good Luck..!!

Some citizens went out and walked their dogs yesterday before the really bad weather kicked in! :)

I think dogs would blow away today...

That poor dog is under dressed!

Yes, we're well prepared to stay indoors!

Our cat loves this weather because he is a big tough Maine Coon :)

Said big tough Maine Coon being currently sound asleep on an orange blanket near a heater!

Did you know......... that hail is a really good exfoliant? The skin on my face is so nice and smooth now after walking back home from a meeting in town.

You walked home????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

FREAK!!!!!

Wot? It's only a bit of wind and some bits of water. Ok, most of the water was frozen, and the wind kept trying to blow me back to the start. but that's what you get in Welly ;-)

At least this time I wasn't on a cliff-top with 40 kids trying to die from hypothermia.

Only you would walk home from town to Newtown today. What does that take to yours - 20 mins? Half an hour? I suppose you need to toughen up before the weekend...

The walk in was a lot quicker with the southerly behind me hehe.

This is character building apparently. So now i'm more of a character.... ;-)

Oh dear god, heaven help us!

Wow looks almost like a Canadian winter except you guys have less snow

Well there is snow in other places, but Wellington is more into rain hail and wind!

Followed by more rain, more hail, and even stronger winds!

It very rarely snows in Wellington itself, though it has a couple of times. We do see snow on the hills across from us in the winter. Though of course today we can barely see the hills, let alone tell if there is snow!

This is what it looks like when it snows, but it's safe to say there won't be any snow today!

Our winter in South Africa is very mild. Not winter cold at all. I love the cold, with a warm fire going. Hope you people will survive the elements which seem to have arrived at full force.

Although this one seemed worse than usual, we're used to winter storms. We've got through it now, I think. There might even be a bit of sun over the weekend! Despite the sore throat, I generally cope better with cold than with heat. So overall the NZ climate suits me better than the SA one would. I always say - you can always put more clothes and a heater on, but there's only so much you can take off!

You can dress elegantly in winter, but as you say you can only take off so much!

Hahaha, I COULD dress elegantly, but I have to admit I never do ;-) Even by kiwi standards, I tend towards the casual end of the scale.

Nicely formatted @kiwideb,
Us kiwi's have to stick together even in the worst times Hopefully it gets better in wellington for you.
Stay safe and Warm. Good luck

Yes, it will get better for us as it heads in your direction! I bet you're glad it's school holidays and you can spend the day snugly inside in front of Steemit.

Wow, some of those pictures are crazy! The one of the beach really had me in awe. My sister was in Australia/New Zealand for an extended stay while she was working in a medical clinic. She told me that New Zealand would be the perfect place for me to live because of all of the mountains near lakes (my favorite of all nature!) In fact, I have some of her amazing photography of New Zealand up on my living room wall.

You'd probably like the South Island best then. You'll have to come and visit some day. But maybe not in the middle of winter!

Funny that you are winter here and we are mid-summer here...the hottest part! Although today is a beautiful day! I would love to visit several places, but New Zealand is definitely up there on my list.

The rain has stopped, the wind has died down to a Wellington normal and the sun even came out today! Though rain is predicted to start again tomorrow...

It's going to be 80 and not humid once again today. Three days in a row in July! Unusual, but I will take it!

Ooh that sounds nice, not too hot.

We are in the Tauranga area, wet and cold here too... cant wait for the long summer days on the beach!

Hahahaha {picks herself up off the floor} Last summer we had only two days when the sun came out. But fingers crossed that a really wintery winter will mean things are back to comparatively normal and we'll have a summer to look forward to.

Ahh shoot, you know it's crazy when a trampoline is rolling down the street. The worst storm I've ever witnessed here had a fishing boat floating down our street, and a tricycle floating in a river. Floods so strong, I even filmed it destroying a bridge. Stay inside, and most importantly, stay safe, guys!

A fishing boat floating down the street! That's some flood.
I was supposed to go across town to teach a class first thing tomorrow morning, but have re-arranged that. I'm not going anywhere, and I wouldn't be surprised if none of the ladies turn up either!

There would always be that one person who shows up and wonders where everyone is haha! I could imagine her now. Poor Janice. I hope she bought a raincoat. Treat yourself with some hot cocoa when you get home. You deserve it, girl.

Haha! If it's anyone, it will be the person who has to turn up because it's her week to bring the class roll and the money to pay the instructor. But all is well, I couriered some DVDs over to the Rec Centre yesterday. The DVDs are a last resort.

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