NZ Historic Weather Events Catalogue
January 2002 New Zealand Storm ( 2002-01-01 )
South Island was hit by lightning, heavy rain, hail and flooding for five days. Two trampers in the Southern Alps were drowned. Levin was hit by a tornado.
New Zealand
Multi Hazard
at
New Zealand
An active trough moved east over the country, preceded by a strong, moist, northwestery flow and followed by a cooler unstable southwesterly airstream.
South Island
Multi Hazard
at
South Island
Duration: 5 days - The storm lasted for five days from the 1st to the 5th of January over the West Coast, Canterbury and Otago.
Manawatu-Wanganui
Tornado
at
Levin
On the 4th, a tornado uprooted trees at the Levin Golf Course.
West Coast
Flooding
at
West Coast
A cold front moved briskly over the south of South Island, and was preceded by strong winds. Rain moved ahead of the front and was responsible for the West Coast deluges.
West Coast rivers were still swollen on the 3rd.
State Highway 73 and 6 were both closed by floods and slips for a time.
Landslide
at
Buller Gorge
A slip derailed a goods train at Buller Gorge.
Heavy Rain
at
Hokitika
Hokitika recorded 2.0cm of rain in one hour.
Flooding
State Highway 6 between Haast and Hokitika was reopened on the morning of the 4th.
Lightning
Hokitika Airport had 481 lightning flashes on the 2nd.
Hokitika Airport had 937 lightning flashes during the 1st to the 4th.
Heavy Rain
at
Westport
Westport recorded 3.7cm of rain in one hour.
Flooding
State Highway 6 between Westport and Karamea was closed on the night of the 2nd because of flooding. It was reopened at 3am on the 3rd.
Homes and businesses were flooded.
Flooding
at
Greymouth
There was some flooding in low lying areas of Greymouth and some small slips on the 2nd due to heavy rain.
Heavy rain caused slips and flooding on the main route between Christchurch and Greymouth. It was reopened on the morning of the 3rd.
State Highway 73 between Jacksons and Kumara was closed on the night of the 2nd. It was reopened at approximately 7:30am on the 3rd.
Flooding
at
Franz Josef
On the 3rd, the Waiho River level was close to the top of the stopbank at Franz Josef.
The bridge over the Waiho River, just south of Franz Josef, was closed after four metres of the approach was washed away on the 4th. The river caused the destruction of the spurs on the true right bank upstream of the bridge and and a breach of the bridge abutment.
Canterbury
Multi Hazard
at
Canterbury
Thunderstorms, lightning, torrential rain and hail lashed Christchurch on the 5th.
Insurance industry payouts for the damage caused by the storm was $3,000,000 ($3,687,000 2009 dollars).
There was a washout on the Rangitata River bridge, which had been undermined by the river.
There were power cuts in Christchurch.
Hail
Hail was 7.5 cm deep in some city areas.
Hailstones were 2cm thick.
Flooding
There was local flooding and flashfloods in Christchurch.
Flooding
at
Arthur's Pass
It was still raining in the ranges on the 3rd but roads were all open.
Flooding
at
Rangitata River
Floodwaters washed out the approach to a bridge over the Rangitata River.
A freight train derailed and plunged into the river on line between Christchurch and Dunedin at approximately 9:40pm on the 4th.
The driver of the train suffered three broken ribs.
Otago
Lightning
at
Queenstown
On the 4th, a German tourist was seriously injured when he was struck by lightning twice on the Ben Lomond track near Queenstown. He was struck the second time as he lay unconcious from the first strike. He suffered burns.
Heavy Rain
at
Balclutha
Balclutha recorded 6.4cm of rain in 24 hours on the 3rd.
Flooding
at
Young River
A woman tramper fell almost four metres down a bank into the Young River in Mount Aspiring National Park on the 4th and drowned.
Flooding
at
Rees River
A tramper was crossing a creek near the flooded Rees River when a flash flood swept down. A two metre high wall of water and sludge dragged him into Rees River near Glenorchy and he drowned.
Flooding
at
Makarora
A section of State Highway 6 near Makarora had surface flooding and rocks across the road.
References
- Catalogue of Severe Hail Storms, 1924-1986 and 1991-2006, Source: DIGEST
- Major weather events in New Zealand, FLOODS and HIGH RAINFALL, to 31st May 2006
- Meteorological Society of New Zealand (Inc.) Newsletter 88, March 2002.
- Milligan, A. (2002). Waiho River Flooding Assessment for Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management, August 2002. Report 80295/2. Optimx Ltd., Wellington. 51 p.
- www.metservice, notable weather events.govt.nz
- Headline: From summer swelter to wet weekend.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, Source: NZ Herald and NZPA, 4 January 2002.
- Headline: Tramper dies as rain hits south.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, Source: NZ Herald and NZPA, 5 January 2002.
- Headline: Canterbury freight train derailed - driver has lucky escape.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, Source: Christchurch Star and NZPA, 5 January 2002.
- Headline: Month of weather extremes, from sunny days to flash floods.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, Source: NZPA, 2 February 2002.
- Headline: More rain expected for Westland.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, Source: NZPA, 2 January 2002.
- Headline: Treacherous road conditions in Westland after flooding.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, Source: NZPA, 3 January 2002.
- Headline: Summer of wild and wet extremes.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, Source: NZPA, 4 March 2002.
January 2002 New Zealand Storm ( 2002-01-01 )
South Island was hit by lightning, heavy rain, hail and flooding for five days. Two trampers in the Southern Alps were drowned. Levin was hit by a tornado.
New Zealand
Multi Hazard
at
New Zealand
An active trough moved east over the country, preceded by a strong, moist, northwestery flow and followed by a cooler unstable southwesterly airstream.
South Island
Multi Hazard
at
South Island
Duration: 5 days - The storm lasted for five days from the 1st to the 5th of January over the West Coast, Canterbury and Otago.
Manawatu-Wanganui
Tornado
at
Levin
On the 4th, a tornado uprooted trees at the Levin Golf Course.
West Coast
Flooding
at
West Coast
A cold front moved briskly over the south of South Island, and was preceded by strong winds. Rain moved ahead of the front and was responsible for the West Coast deluges.
West Coast rivers were still swollen on the 3rd.
State Highway 73 and 6 were both closed by floods and slips for a time.
Landslide
at
Buller Gorge
A slip derailed a goods train at Buller Gorge.
Heavy Rain
at
Hokitika
Hokitika recorded 2.0cm of rain in one hour.
Flooding
State Highway 6 between Haast and Hokitika was reopened on the morning of the 4th.
Lightning
Hokitika Airport had 481 lightning flashes on the 2nd.
Hokitika Airport had 937 lightning flashes during the 1st to the 4th.
Heavy Rain
at
Westport
Westport recorded 3.7cm of rain in one hour.
Flooding
State Highway 6 between Westport and Karamea was closed on the night of the 2nd because of flooding. It was reopened at 3am on the 3rd.
Homes and businesses were flooded.
Flooding
at
Greymouth
There was some flooding in low lying areas of Greymouth and some small slips on the 2nd due to heavy rain.
Heavy rain caused slips and flooding on the main route between Christchurch and Greymouth. It was reopened on the morning of the 3rd.
State Highway 73 between Jacksons and Kumara was closed on the night of the 2nd. It was reopened at approximately 7:30am on the 3rd.
Flooding
at
Franz Josef
On the 3rd, the Waiho River level was close to the top of the stopbank at Franz Josef.
The bridge over the Waiho River, just south of Franz Josef, was closed after four metres of the approach was washed away on the 4th. The river caused the destruction of the spurs on the true right bank upstream of the bridge and and a breach of the bridge abutment.
Canterbury
Multi Hazard
at
Canterbury
Thunderstorms, lightning, torrential rain and hail lashed Christchurch on the 5th.
Insurance industry payouts for the damage caused by the storm was $3,000,000 ($3,687,000 2009 dollars).
There was a washout on the Rangitata River bridge, which had been undermined by the river.
There were power cuts in Christchurch.
Hail
Hail was 7.5 cm deep in some city areas.
Hailstones were 2cm thick.
Flooding
There was local flooding and flashfloods in Christchurch.
Flooding
at
Arthur's Pass
It was still raining in the ranges on the 3rd but roads were all open.
Flooding
at
Rangitata River
Floodwaters washed out the approach to a bridge over the Rangitata River.
A freight train derailed and plunged into the river on line between Christchurch and Dunedin at approximately 9:40pm on the 4th.
The driver of the train suffered three broken ribs.
Otago
Lightning
at
Queenstown
On the 4th, a German tourist was seriously injured when he was struck by lightning twice on the Ben Lomond track near Queenstown. He was struck the second time as he lay unconcious from the first strike. He suffered burns.
Heavy Rain
at
Balclutha
Balclutha recorded 6.4cm of rain in 24 hours on the 3rd.
Flooding
at
Young River
A woman tramper fell almost four metres down a bank into the Young River in Mount Aspiring National Park on the 4th and drowned.
Flooding
at
Rees River
A tramper was crossing a creek near the flooded Rees River when a flash flood swept down. A two metre high wall of water and sludge dragged him into Rees River near Glenorchy and he drowned.
Flooding
at
Makarora
A section of State Highway 6 near Makarora had surface flooding and rocks across the road.
References
- Catalogue of Severe Hail Storms, 1924-1986 and 1991-2006, Source: DIGEST
- Major weather events in New Zealand, FLOODS and HIGH RAINFALL, to 31st May 2006
- Meteorological Society of New Zealand (Inc.) Newsletter 88, March 2002.
- Milligan, A. (2002). Waiho River Flooding Assessment for Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management, August 2002. Report 80295/2. Optimx Ltd., Wellington. 51 p.
- www.metservice, notable weather events.govt.nz
- Headline: From summer swelter to wet weekend.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, Source: NZ Herald and NZPA, 4 January 2002.
- Headline: Tramper dies as rain hits south.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, Source: NZ Herald and NZPA, 5 January 2002.
- Headline: Canterbury freight train derailed - driver has lucky escape.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, Source: Christchurch Star and NZPA, 5 January 2002.
- Headline: Month of weather extremes, from sunny days to flash floods.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, Source: NZPA, 2 February 2002.
- Headline: More rain expected for Westland.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, Source: NZPA, 2 January 2002.
- Headline: Treacherous road conditions in Westland after flooding.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, Source: NZPA, 3 January 2002.
- Headline: Summer of wild and wet extremes.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, Source: NZPA, 4 March 2002.