A stormy Labour Day week-end

Press, 28 October 1982, Page 7

A stormy Labour Day week-end

By

IAN MILLER,

a

research meteorologist with the Christchurch Meteorological Service.

A deep depression which became slow-moving east of the South Island on Sunday brought miserable weather to much of Canterbury over the Labour Day week-end in spite of a promising start on Saturday morning when the weather was delightfully mild over the plains. The depression developed on an active cold front which moved over the South Island on Saturday, bringing heavy rain to the West Coast. It was followed by a very cold south-westerly change which spread rain and snow to low levels over Southland, Otago, and Canterbury, reaching Christchurch just after 4 p.m. Normally we would have expected a gradual improvement over the next day or two but the depression slowed down as it deepened and actually recurved .to pass over Banks Peninsula on Monday morning heading north.

As it swung in towards the coast again Sunday evening the depression brought more rain and gale-force winds along the east coast of the South Island as far north as Banks Peninsula. Farmers on the Canterbury Plains benefited with 30mm to 40mm of rain or more but their joy

would have been tempered by the low temperatures which reached a maximum of only 10 deg.C in Christchurch on Sunday compared with an average 17deg. or so at this time of year. There was much more rain over Banks Peninsula and near the ranges as can be seen from the map of total rainfall from 9 a.m. on Saturday to 9 a.m. on Tuesday: