Northland floods

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2020-07-18
New Zealand
Flood, Storm

Unusual interaction between two low-pressure zones caused intense storms over New Zealand's Northland on July 17, 2020. The worst affected was Whangarei, where emergency services responded to more than 220 calls. "This is just diabolical for our people. We've gone from drought to dealing with a 1 in 500-year event. Unbelievable," Whangārei Mayor Sheryl Mai said.

According to MetService meteorologists, the storm dropped 220 mm (8.6 inches) of rain on Whangarei from 19:00 LT on July 17 to 07:00 LT on July 18. 'We call this a greater-than-500-year return period,' the service said.

The worst of the storm came around 19:00 LT, with about 50 mm (1.9 inches) per hour.

Several gauges exceeded 250 mm (9.8 inches) of rain in 24 hours, including over 150 mm (5.9 inches) in just 4 hours at Whangarei Aero and 56.8 mm (2.2 inches) at Kaikohe in just 1 hour.

According to NIWA, Whangarei recorded its wettest July hour on record between 20:00 and 21:00 LT on July 17, with 39.6 mm (1.5 inches).

132.6 mm (5.2 inches) fell in just 4 hours between 18:00 and 22:00 LT, which is 78% of the monthly normal.

Further rainfalls of 40 to 60 mm (1.5 - 2.3 inches) an hour could still fall this morning, July 18, MetService said, adding that the storm should break by the afternoon and turn to periods of showers later in the day before petering off tomorrow.

Officials are urging residents to stay off the roads and to keep up with weather watches and warnings via MetService.

Source: The Watchers. Posted by Teo Blašković on July 18, 2020. 'Once-in-500-years' storm hits Northland, cutting off Far North from the rest of the country, New Zealand https://watchers.news/2020/07/18/once-in-500-years-storm-hits-northland-cutting-off-far-north-from-the-rest-of-the-country-new-zealand/?fbclid=IwAR0bt6NXy4IsetTEMopSj8SsurnKjpb69PELvxeXSq4ncweGbjS709iokvE