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ISSN 0111-1736 Meteorological Society Of New Zealand (Inc.) NEWSLETTER 116 MARCH 2009 Meteorological Society of New Zealand Newsletter - December 2008 - Page 2 Meteorological Society Of New Zealand (Inc.) NEWSLETTER 116 DECEMBER 2009 PO Box 6523, Marion Square, Wellington 6141, New Zealand Please forward contributions to Bob McDavitt, [email protected] CONTENTS Page Minutes of SGM 3 Regional Reports 4 Annual conference 5 Summer—NIWA 6-7 Summer—Notable weather 7-14 Summer-Christchurch 14-15 Summer –in the press 15-43 Your new Committee President Mike Revell [email protected] Immediate Past President Kim Dirks [email protected] Auckland VP Jennifer Salmond Wellington VP James Renwick [email protected] Christchurch VP Michael Titov [email protected] Dunedin VP vacant Secretary Sam Dean [email protected] Treasurer Cliff Revell [email protected] Circulation Manager Sylvia Nichol Journal Editor Brian Giles [email protected] Newsletter Editor Bob McDavitt [email protected] Wed Editor Peter Knudsen [email protected] Hydrological Society Liaison Charles Pearson [email protected] General Committee Jim Salinger [email protected] Stacey Dravitzki [email protected] Katrina Richards [email protected] Sally Garrett Gareth Renowden [email protected] Views and endorsements expressed in this newsletter are those of the contributors and advertisers, and not necessarily those of the Meteorological Society of New Zealand. The mention of specific companies or products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the Society. Meteorological Society of New Zealand Newsletter - December 2008 - Page 3 Minutes of a Special General Meeting of the Meteorological Society of New Zealand (Inc.) Wednesday, March 17th, 2009, NIWA, Greta Point, Wellington The meeting opened at 2:05pm The meeting was chaired by Mike Revell (President) and the minutes have been written by Sam Dean (Secretary). 1. Attendance Andrew Tait Andrew Laing Mike Revell Sam Dean John Sansom Errol Laithwaite Duncan Ackerley Craig Thompson Brett Mullan Rowena Moss Sylvia Nicol Mike Harvey Murray Poulter Rupert Wood Trevor Carey-Smith Alan Porteus Cliff Revell Katrina Richards James Renwick 2. Apologies Kim Dirks, John Hickman 3. Other Matters Change of Constitution. Mike Revell explained that the society was applying to be a charity and that this would mean that the society would no longer have to pay hundreds of dollars each year in taxes. The Metsoc’s application had been declined because the clause in the constitution relating to the dissolution of the society was inadequate. The special general meeting was called to amend the constitution to a form that was sug- gested by the Charities Commission. There was discussion on the wording of the final sentence which had been added by Sam. Sam Dean then put forward the motion that: Section 18 of the constitution, which currently states: “In the event of dissolution of the Society the dis- position of any assets shall be decided at the last General Meeting provided that any property whatsoever shall not be paid to or distributed among the members of the Society”. Be replaced in its entirety by the words: “If any property remains after winding up or dissolution of the Society and the settlement of all the So- cieties debts and liabilities, that property must be given or transferred to another organisation that is charitable under New Zealand law or for some other charitable purpose recognised under New Zealand law. The recipient organisation shall be decided at the last General Meeting.” The motion was seconded by Mike Revell and carried unanimously. With no other business put forward the meeting was declared closed at 2:15pm. Meteorological Society of New Zealand Newsletter - December 2008 - Page 4 REGIONAL REPORTS AUCKLAND Richard McKenzie of NIWA, a world authority on UV from Lauder , is giving a talk on 7 April at 12.30pm in the NIWA Conference Room, 41 Market Place, Viaduct Basin, Auck- land Central. Title: "How to balance your benefits and risks of solar UV exposure" or "Balancing Risk and benefits of UV expo- sure" WELLINGTON As part of the special general meeting at NIWA, Greta Point, held on Wednesday the 17th of March the Welling- ton branch of the Meteorological Society organised two 15 minute seminars. The first was by Mike Revell on the meteorology of the Australian bush fires and the second by James Renwick on the cause of shifting storm tracks under global warming. WAIRARAPA WEATHER WATCHERS (by Alex Neale) In February about 16 members attended our third meet- ing of the summer season. The topic was based on a re- cent article in Weather dealing the Space Weather. While it was outside the comfort zone of most at the meeting in- cluding myself, it certainly generated more interest than I expected. In particular one member, who is involved with radio communications, found he enjoyed the relationship between events in the ionosphere and the meeting, at the stratopause, of ionospheric and meteorological interests. Any past Wellington Weather Watchers may be interested to know that I recently met Bill Lees (now of Melbourne and now a Wairarapa Weather Watchers member) who was remarking on how the climate in Melbourne has changed resulting in the increased temperatures recently being experienced - and that was not long before the re- cent extreme heatwave and fires! Meteorological Society of New Zealand Newsletter - December 2008 - Page 5 Annual Conference Our next annual conference will be held 2 - 4 September 2009 at the University of Auckland held jointly with the NZ Marine Sciences Society Early registration and abstracts for presentations are due 1 June 2009 Venue The venue is to be the Owen Glenn Building, University of Auckland. Deadline is 1st June for submission of abstracts for offers of presentations (talks and post- ers) and early registration. The conference dinner will be on Friday 4 th Septem- ber. Theme The broad theme is ‘Oceans and climate', but we look forward to presentations from a broad range of professional and student investigators. Sponsors Sponsors help by suppling venues, support services, student registration grants, student prizes, and special offers for attendees. Suggestions for sponsors and or- ganisations who may wish to hire display stand space are welcome. Please con- tact any member of the organising committee or the NZMSS council. Organising Committee Megan Stewart (ARC); Sandra Hinni and Emily Jones (Golder); Steve O’Shea (AUT); Mark Costello (Chair), Richard Taylor (UoA Leigh Marine Lab); Jim Salin- ger (Met Soc); Mary Livingston (MFish); David Raubenheimer (Massey); Kim Dirks (Met Soc); Paul Kench (UoA SGGES); Kendall Clements (UoA SBS); Dan McClary (Golder); Ann McCrone (DoC); Tom Trnski (Auckland Museum); and graduates Mark Fitzpatrick, Emily Duder, Elliot Brown, Jenni Stanley, Corinne Klein (UoA Marine Science); Kyle Morgan (UoA SGGES); Gabriel Machovsky (Massey). Meteorological Society of New Zealand Newsletter - December 2008 - Page 6 Climate Summary for Summer 2008-09 Wet in many areas; mild and sunny in the North Island and northern South Island; heat wave in early February. Rainfall: Above normal in the north, west and south of the North Island, Marlborough, mid- and south Canterbury and Otago; below normal in Hawke’s Bay and Westport Temperature: Above average for most of the North Island and the north of the South Island; below average in mid- and south Canterbury, Otago and coastal Southland. Sunshine: Near normal for most of New Zealand; below normal in Otago and South- land Summer rainfall was above normal (120 – 150% of normal) in parts of Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Manawatu, Wellington and Otago. Some locations in Marlborough and south Canter- bury received nearly double their normal summer rainfall totals. Hawke’s Bay and Westport received between 50 and 80 percent of normal summer rainfall. Other areas received near normal rainfall for summer. Severe soil moisture deficits in many eastern areas of the country eased to near normal levels by the end of February. Summer overall was warmer than average (by between 0.5 and 1.5°C) for most of the North Island and the north of the South Island. A significant heat wave was experienced in many parts of the country from 7 – 12 February, when several record high temperatures were set. Temperatures were below the long-term summer average by between 0.5 and 1.5°C through- out much of inland mid- and south Canterbury, Otago and coastal Southland. The national av- erage temperature of 16.7 °C was 0.1 °C above average for summer. December and January’s climate was dominated by more ‘highs’ (anticyclones) to the east of the country and more ‘lows’ (depressions) than normal in the Tasman sea, resulting in stronger than normal north-easterly winds over the country. In February, the first two weeks were very warm, associated with frequent warm north-westerly wind flows onto the country, whereas the last two weeks were dominated by more southerly airflows onto the South Island than normal for this time of year, which contributed to the cool temperatures in the south. Major Highlights Heavy rain fell in Queenstown and on the West Coast overnight on 2 January. River levels in the Haast and Callery (near Franz Josef) Rivers rose quickly as a result. On 3 January, thunder and hail in Christchurch forced the postponement of the international cricket match against the West Indies, while large, 2 cm hailstones whipped across roads and buildings in Waipara, bringing traffic to a standstill, and denting cars. On 20 February, severe rain caused surface flooding in parts of Wellington, Levin, and Palmerston North, and caused raw sewage to overflow into central Wellington, the har- bour, and Lyall Bay. In Tauranga, the severe rain caused the postponement of the Kapa Haka festival, the first time this had happened in 36 years.