More stormy weather brewing for New Zealand by Steph Ball
New Zealand has been battered by some stormy weather over the last few weeks, with the Met Service now warning of another major storm heading their way.
An area of low pressure currently developing to the south of the country is forecast to work its way north over the next few days.
The Met Service has issued a warning of severe northwesterly gales for parts of Wellington and Wairarapa overnight, with winds gusting to 75mph (120 km/h). Warnings of heavy rain have also been issued for the next couple of days with as much as 100mm (4 inches) of rain possible over high ground. An influx of cold southerly winds is also expected to bring falling temperatures and heavy snow falls.
Stormy weather hit New Zealand little over a week ago, but it was at the tail end of July when North Island was said to have been hit by its worst storm in a decade. Hurricane force winds downed powerlines and trees, while heavy rain brought flooding. The storm was termed a “weather bomb”.
A weather bomb is defined as an intense low-pressure weather system with a central pressure dropping by 24 millibars or more in 24 hours.
The current bout of stormy weather is expected to continue into the early part of next week.
