Looks like more bad weather for Auckland

[cloakndagger]

Just read this on one of the NZ sites:

 

 

A major storm in the Coral Sea off Australia's northeast coast is beginning to develop and is heading directly towards New Zealand's largest city, Auckland.

I'm becoming increasingly confident that a major sub-tropical cyclone will affect much of the North Island starting early on Saturday. While the path of this weekend's storm still isn't 100% clear its development certainly is. There's talk on the two main NZ weather forums (http://www.nzweather.net and weatherforum.org.nz ) that the air pressure could drop to record levels for northern New Zealand/Auckland.

Isn't it weird how we're in the middle of winter yet we're talking about a sub-tropical cyclone? It has all the potential - at this stage - to bring torrential rain to Northland, Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty and East Cape with severe gales for some regions too. Winds possibly gusting as much as 180km/h may affect exposed regions such as Northland, Coromandel, Eastern Waikato and the Hauraki Gulf.

As I said before, the air pressure looks like it will plummet into the 960's (hPa). Not only is that extremely rare but it may also break records. Weather enthusiasts on the above forums are searching through data to find what the record figures are.

Low air pressure, combined with big seas and strong winds, could also help create one of the biggest storm surges seen in the upper North Island for several years. If this prediction eventuates we could see storm surges flooding low lying eastern coastal areas from Northland to Auckland and across Coromandel and Bay of Plenty. It may also pose a serious risk for low lying areas around the Firth of Thames which is particularly vulnerable to northern storm surges.

But lets not panic just yet! At the time of writing this the storm is still over 24 hours away from landfall - and even the slightest movement could have dramtic changes to our weather.

Hope it doesn't impede the Sun tomorrow...Mick will not be pleased!!

They really can't score a break at the moment, can they??!!

 

Kaz

[mickalex]

Be intresting to see what the call is after we board tomorro.I have been watching the maps and looking at the swell models and i think there is no problem we will make it through the window, but things change very quickly with the weather in the open sea.Been stuck in 30 foot waves in a 45 foot yacht for 3 days, and it was a experiance i would not wish on anyone.Me i thrived on it but it was something that tesed me to the hilt.

It sure makes a diffrence when you can run at 21 knots compared to the max 12-16 knots we could do in a run.

I suppose it all comes down to how dumb or numb you are like myself, i was more scared of my kids being born with all there digits and mind than in a big sea!

Thanks for the heads up, i will be keeping a close eye on the met.