Meteorology

"I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." -- Dorothy Gale

In the Pacific Northwest, we rarely looked at the weather forecast. If you carried a light raincoat with you and maybe a fleece, all would be well. Sure, there was the great ice storm of 2024 that stunned Portlanders, and we will never forget the apocalyptic fires of 2020 that made us glad to already have n95s on hand. Sometimes the rain is heavier or lasts longer than usual. Once in a while the wind blows. In general, though, the temperature swings about 10 degrees Fahrenheit in a day, and what you left the house wearing will suit you for the remainder of the day.

New Zealand is an entirely different animal. The sun feels like an absolute microwave, such that the temperature will seem 20 degrees Fahrenheit higher in the sun as opposed to the shade. All Kiwis wear sunscreen daily, because we are unfortunately close to the Antarctic ozone thinning and the sun will burn. We have worn shorts, T shirts, sweaters and parkas in the same day. The winds have their own names and personalities, and one may encounter two of them in the same day. From what we have thus gathered:

• The Southerlies bring cold and rain.

• The Easterlies are bitter cold off the southern Pacific.

• The NorWesters blow hard and warm.

Yesterday was a NorWester for the books. Winds reached 144 mph on the top of Pudding Hill in Marlborough and 75 mph in many major cities. Rivers overflowed their banks, flights were grounded, roads flooded, trees toppled, roofs went sailing, power poles broke, trucks overturned… those living on the West Coast literally have no road access to the rest of the South Island.

Photos sourced from stuff.co.nz

As mentioned in a previous post, many allege that Timaru means “place of shelter”. (Other experts claim that it means “shady”.) My vote is for the former, because while mayhem wrecked the whole of the South Island, from Marlborough to Ivercargill, we had a bit of a rainy morning and then a sunny breezy afternoon. Though a few garbage cans did tip over.