NZ Historic Weather Events Catalogue
January 2009 South Island Thunderstorms
(
2009-01-02
)
High winds and thunderstorms passed over Canterbury and parts of the West Coast and Otago, bringing damaging hail and lightning to Canterbury. There was a tornado in Waikouaiti.
New Zealand
Multi Hazard
at
New Zealand
Duration: 2 days - From the 2nd till the 3rd of January.
On the 1st, a cold front in a strong north-westerly flow crssed the South Island. Later that day weak ridging lessened the flow over the country. On the 2nd, an active trough moved onto the South Island. On the 3rd, the trough crossed the North Island and a colder southwesterly flow spread onto the South Island.
MetService SEVERE WEATHER WARNING issued at 11:46 am 01-Jan-2009: Another burst of heavy rain about and west of the South Island main divide. Includes HEAVY RAIN WARNING for: Fiordland and Westland south of Springs Junction/Lewis Pass and the headwaters of the Otago and Canterbury lakes and rivers from Lake Wakatipu to the Hurunui River.
MetService SEVERE WEATHER WARNING issued at 9:09 pm 01-Jan-2009: Period of heavy rain and thunderstorms in Fiordland and Westland on Friday with spillover into Otago and Canterbury headwaters. Includes HEAVY RAIN WARNING for: Fiordland and Westland south of Springs Junction/Lewis Pass, also headwaters of Otago and Canterbury.
MetService SEVERE WEATHER WARNING issued at 9:14 am 02-Jan-2009: Period of heavy rain and thunderstorms on the West Coast today reaching Nelson tonight, with spillover into Otago and Canterbury headwaters. Severe northwest gales in Wairarapa, Wellington and Marlborough overnight. Includes HEAVY RAIN WARNING for: Fiordland, ranges of Westland, Buller, northwest Nelson and Nelson Lakes, also headwaters of Otago and Canterbury; and STRONG WIND WARNING for: exposed areas of Marlborough Sounds and eastern Marlborough, also near hilltops and ranges of Wellington and Wairarapa.
MetService SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH issued at 01:57 pm Friday 02 January 2009 for: Fiordland, Buller and Westland.
MetService SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH issued at 04:35 pm Friday 02 January 2009 for: Nelson, Buller, Westland, Canterbury High Country and Southern Lakes.
MetService SEVERE WEATHER WARNING issued at 8:03 pm 02-Jan-2009: Heavy rain for the ranges of Buller and Nelson overnight, also the Tararua Ranges. Severe northwest gales for Marlborough, Wellington and Wairarapa. Includes HEAVY RAIN WARNING for: ranges of Buller, northwest Nelson and Nelson Lakes, also the Tararua Ranges; and STRONG WIND WARNING for: exposed parts of Marlborough, Wellington and Wairarapa. WARNINGS NO LONGER IN FORCE: Heavy Rain Warnings lifted for Fiordland, Westland and the headwaters of the Otago and Canterbury lakes and rivers as far north as the Hurunui River.
MetService SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH issued at 08:38 pm Friday 02 January 2009 for: Taranaki, Wanganui, Manawatu, Kapiti-Horowhenua, Wairarapa, Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson and Buller.
MetService SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH issued at 07:49 am Saturday 03 January 2009 for: Taranaki.
MetService SEVERE WEATHER WARNING issued at 8:13 am 03-Jan-2009: Heavy rain for Tararua Ranges and Mt Taranaki area this morning, severe northwest gales in Wellington and Wairarapa easing. Includes HEAVY RAIN WARNING for: Tararua Ranges and Mt Taranaki; and STRONG WIND WARNING for: near hills and ranges of Wairarapa. WARNINGS NO LONGER IN FORCE: Heavy Rain Warnings lifted for ranges of Buller, northwest Nelson and Nelson Lakes. Strong Wind Warning lifted for Wellington.
MetService SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH issued at 02:13 pm Saturday 03 January 2009 for: Canterbury Plains.
MetService SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH issued at 03:36 pm Saturday 03 January 2009 for: Christchurch, Canterbury Plains, Canterbury High Country and North Otago.
MetService SEVERE WEATHER WARNING issued at 4:11 pm 03-Jan-2009: Heavy rain about the Tararua Ranges and Mt Taranaki and also the Central North Island hills and ranges and severe northwest gales in Wairarapa have eased. WARNINGS NO LONGER IN FORCE: Heavy Rain Warnings lifted for Tararua Ranges and the hill country from Mt Taranaki towards the central North Island and into southern Waikato. Strong Wind Warning lifted for near hills and ranges of Wairarapa.
MetService SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH issued at 05:33 pm Saturday 03 January 2009 for: Marlborough, Canterbury Plains and Canterbury High Country.
North Island
Multi Hazard
at
North Island
Driving rain and hail raged throughout the afternoon across the top half of the North Island.
Wellington
Hail
at
Wellington
A hail storm was experienced in the Wairarapa on the 2nd.
The hail stones were 2 cm in diamater.
Traffic was brought to a standstill by the hail.
Some cars were dented by hail.
West Coast
Heavy Rain
at
West Coast
Heavy rain hammered the West Coast on the night of the 2nd.
Flooding
at
Callery River
The Callery River, near Franz Josef, was rose to 2.5m on the night of the 2nd - more than five times its usual 500 mm.
Flooding
at
Haast River
The Haast River was at 2.5 m on the night of the 2nd, after having risen from 1.3 m at noon.
Canterbury
High Wind / Gust
at
Canterbury
A windstorm hit Canterbury on the afternoon of the 2nd. The storm lasted barely an hour and was at its worst in mid-Canterbury.
Hail
A hail and thunder storm swept across Canterbury on the 3rd.
There were hail stones of golf ball size.
Federated Farmers estimated the hailstorm did well over $1 million of damage to crops. One farmer had $250,000 worth of crop damage and some farmers had lost their entire year's income. One farmer had some 40 hectares of rape seed crops stripped bare. The storm destroyed any crops in its path, many of which were only a couple of weeks away from being harvested. Vineyards and rape seed crops were amongst those hit hard. Vegetable growers also had their crops damaged.
The hail storm carved a 6-8 km wide path of destruction from Kirwee to Amberley. The heaviest hail stones fell from the Waimakariri River to north of Amberley.
Lightning
Almost 1200 lightning strikes were recorded in Canterbury in the space of an hour.
Heavy Rain
Heavy rain swelled rivers to dangerous levels.
There were unofficial reports of 20 mm (2 cm) of rain falling in an hour during the downpour on the afternoon of the 3rd.
Hail
at
Amberley
One vineyard between Amberley and Broomfield was heavily damaged.
High Wind / Gust
at
Ashburton
Wind wreaked havoc in Ashburton on the 2nd, with most of the damage being caused in an hour from about 5.30pm. Strong gusts brought down trees on power lines, causing short circuits and fires, and the traffic lights were out. There was a lot of building damage. One family lost their trampoline when it was blown over the neighbour's fence and a storage shed was blown 50 m across a main road and came to rest on a footpath. The Ashburton Volunteer Fire Brigade responded to about a dozen wind-related calls.
More than 10,000 homes around Ashburton lost their power. Some were without power until the next morning.
Winds of 120 km/h swept through.
A man broke his arm while on the roof of his house dealing with a damaged tree.
High Wind / Gust
at
Christchurch
In Christchurch, powerlines were brought down on the 2nd in Hawkins Road, Marshland, Bower Avenue, New Brighton, and Woodham Road, Linwood, disrupting the power supply. The fallen lines in Hawkins Road also caused a small grass fire.
Hail
Hail halted play at the Black Caps and West Indies one-dayer in Christchurch on the 3rd.
About 20 ha of pumpkins and onions beside Lower Styx Road suffered varying degrees of damage and another Christchurch grower also reported crop damage.
Christchurch International Airport was closed for half an hour from 4.15pm on the 3rd, but there were no major delays.
Flooding
There was surface flooding on some streets.
Lightning
at
Dunsandel
Lightning strikes on feeders in the Dunsandel and Lincoln areas affected power to up to 600 customers for about four hours on the 3rd.
Multi Hazard
at
Kairaki
A man spent 24 hours lost at sea after his jet ski broke down and an unexpected southerly storm blew up while he was off Kairaki beach on the 2nd. He was sucked out to the Godley Heads and endured a night of hail, rain, wind and lightning before he was rescued by a Russian trawler 13 kilometres out to sea on the night of the 3rd.
Lightning
at
Lincoln
Lightning strikes on feeders in the Dunsandel and Lincoln areas affected power to up to 600 customers for about four hours on the 3rd.
Multi Hazard
at
Timaru
On the night of the 2nd the winds changed to the south and thunder rolled across Timaru, bringing with it heavy rain.
Temperatures dropped from a reported 31 degC during the day to about 15 degC that night.
Heavy Rain
at
Waikuku Beach
At Waikuku Beach a house roof sprang a massive leak and heavy rain poured in, drenching everything inside.
Hail
at
Waipara
There were 2 cm hail stones in Waipara.
The hail storm lasted 5 minutes.
The hailbrought traffic to a standstill.
One car was left with a dozen dents in it's bodywork.
Otago
High Wind / Gust
at
Alexandra
Strong winds tore down powerlines and tree branches in the Alexandra area on the morning of the 2nd.
Heavy Rain
at
Queenstown
Heavy rain hammered Queenstown on the night of the 2nd.
Multi Hazard
At Queenstown, the temperature dropped from 20 degC at midday on the 2nd to 12 degC at 2pm.
Tornado
at
Waikouaiti
A tornado passed near the Waikouaiti township at about 12.25pm on the 3rd. For some minutes the tornado headed straight for the township from the south, during a hail storm.
The black tornado was believed to be several hundred metres high.
The tornado knocked limbs off several poplar trees, briefly blocking a 40 m stretch of Ramrock Rd.
A farmhouse about 1 km south of the township was damaged by the tornado. Tiles were ripped off the roof, windows smashed, trees splintered and nearby power lines felled. Sheep dog kennels were also blown away, but the dogs were uninjured.
Power to parts of the township was briefly disrupted at about 1pm before being quickly restored.
Southland
Heavy Rain
at
Southland
Fiordland received more than 100 mm (10.0 cm) of rain in 24 hours on the 1st and 2nd.
Flooding
at
Invercargill
High rainfall caused some flooding from blocked drains in Invercargill.
Heavy Rain
at
Te Anau
The Te Anau rodeo was cancelled on the 3rd because of heavy downpours.
References
- Headline: Unseasonable weather wreaks havoc in Canterbury.
- www.3news.co.nz, Source: 3 News, 3 January 2009, 6:30pm.
- Headline: Federated Farmers: hailstorms causes $1 million of damage.
- www.3news.co.nz, Source: RadioLive, 7 January 2009, 6:02am.
- Meteorological Society of New Zealand (Inc.). (2008). Climate summary for summer 2008-2009. Newsletter 116, March 2008. 6-14
- Headline: Improvement in weather.
- www.newstalkzb.co.nz, 4 January 2009, 6:20am.
- Headline: Cold, rough seas - and sharks.
- www.newstalkzb.co.nz, 4 January 2009, 1:20pm.
- Headline: Hailstorm hits Canterbury.
- www.newstalkzb.co.nz, 6 January 2009, 1:08pm.
- Headline: Gales wreak havoc as front sweeps up country.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, Source; NZPA, 3 January 2009, 7:55am.
- www.odt.co.nz, 4 January, 12:10pm. Healdine: Twister drama shakes Waikouaiti.
- www.odt.co.nz, 5 January, 5:03am. Healdine: Tornado damages buildings, spooks cat.
- Headline: $1m damage to crops from hail.
- www.radionz.co.nz, 7 January, 9:08am.
- Headline: Hail Storm Hits North Canterbury Farmers.
- www.scoop.co.nz, Source: Federated Farmers, 6 January 2009, 3:56pm.
- Headline: High winds bring down more Canterbury lines.
- www.stuff.co.nz, Source: Fairfix Media and NZPA, 3 January 2009.
- Headline: By thunder, the heavens opened.
- www.stuff.co.nz, Source: The Press, 5 January 2009.
- Headline: Unseasonal weather takes toll in south.
- www.stuff.co.nz, Source: The Southland Times, 3 January 2009.
- Headline: Rescue a miracle for jetskier drifting 24hrs.
- www.stuff.co.nz, Source: Sunday Star Times, 4 January 2009.
- Headline: Windy end to the golden weather.
- www.stuff.co.nz, Source: Timaru Herald, 3 January 2009.
- Headline: Wild weather pounds the country.
- tvnz.co.nz, Source: ONE News, 3 January 2009, 6:43pm.
- Headline: Late rally in the holiday weather.
- tvnz.co.nz, Source: NewstalkZB, 4 January 2009, 9:40am.
- Headline: Long night alone at sea for jetskier.
- tvnz.co.nz, Source: ONE News, 4 January 2009, 6:21pm.
- Headline: Hail storm wrecks Canterbury crops.
- tvnz.co.nz, Source: ONE News, 6 January 2009, 7:30pm.
- Headline: Hail-hit farmers' bill over $1 million.
- tvnz.co.nz, Source: NZPA, 7 January 2009, 10:37am.
- MetService Email Lists
January 2009 South Island Thunderstorms
(
2009-01-02
)
High winds and thunderstorms passed over Canterbury and parts of the West Coast and Otago, bringing damaging hail and lightning to Canterbury. There was a tornado in Waikouaiti.
New Zealand
Multi Hazard
at
New Zealand
Duration: 2 days - From the 2nd till the 3rd of January.
On the 1st, a cold front in a strong north-westerly flow crssed the South Island. Later that day weak ridging lessened the flow over the country. On the 2nd, an active trough moved onto the South Island. On the 3rd, the trough crossed the North Island and a colder southwesterly flow spread onto the South Island.
MetService SEVERE WEATHER WARNING issued at 11:46 am 01-Jan-2009: Another burst of heavy rain about and west of the South Island main divide. Includes HEAVY RAIN WARNING for: Fiordland and Westland south of Springs Junction/Lewis Pass and the headwaters of the Otago and Canterbury lakes and rivers from Lake Wakatipu to the Hurunui River.
MetService SEVERE WEATHER WARNING issued at 9:09 pm 01-Jan-2009: Period of heavy rain and thunderstorms in Fiordland and Westland on Friday with spillover into Otago and Canterbury headwaters. Includes HEAVY RAIN WARNING for: Fiordland and Westland south of Springs Junction/Lewis Pass, also headwaters of Otago and Canterbury.
MetService SEVERE WEATHER WARNING issued at 9:14 am 02-Jan-2009: Period of heavy rain and thunderstorms on the West Coast today reaching Nelson tonight, with spillover into Otago and Canterbury headwaters. Severe northwest gales in Wairarapa, Wellington and Marlborough overnight. Includes HEAVY RAIN WARNING for: Fiordland, ranges of Westland, Buller, northwest Nelson and Nelson Lakes, also headwaters of Otago and Canterbury; and STRONG WIND WARNING for: exposed areas of Marlborough Sounds and eastern Marlborough, also near hilltops and ranges of Wellington and Wairarapa.
MetService SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH issued at 01:57 pm Friday 02 January 2009 for: Fiordland, Buller and Westland.
MetService SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH issued at 04:35 pm Friday 02 January 2009 for: Nelson, Buller, Westland, Canterbury High Country and Southern Lakes.
MetService SEVERE WEATHER WARNING issued at 8:03 pm 02-Jan-2009: Heavy rain for the ranges of Buller and Nelson overnight, also the Tararua Ranges. Severe northwest gales for Marlborough, Wellington and Wairarapa. Includes HEAVY RAIN WARNING for: ranges of Buller, northwest Nelson and Nelson Lakes, also the Tararua Ranges; and STRONG WIND WARNING for: exposed parts of Marlborough, Wellington and Wairarapa. WARNINGS NO LONGER IN FORCE: Heavy Rain Warnings lifted for Fiordland, Westland and the headwaters of the Otago and Canterbury lakes and rivers as far north as the Hurunui River.
MetService SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH issued at 08:38 pm Friday 02 January 2009 for: Taranaki, Wanganui, Manawatu, Kapiti-Horowhenua, Wairarapa, Wellington, Marlborough, Nelson and Buller.
MetService SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH issued at 07:49 am Saturday 03 January 2009 for: Taranaki.
MetService SEVERE WEATHER WARNING issued at 8:13 am 03-Jan-2009: Heavy rain for Tararua Ranges and Mt Taranaki area this morning, severe northwest gales in Wellington and Wairarapa easing. Includes HEAVY RAIN WARNING for: Tararua Ranges and Mt Taranaki; and STRONG WIND WARNING for: near hills and ranges of Wairarapa. WARNINGS NO LONGER IN FORCE: Heavy Rain Warnings lifted for ranges of Buller, northwest Nelson and Nelson Lakes. Strong Wind Warning lifted for Wellington.
MetService SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH issued at 02:13 pm Saturday 03 January 2009 for: Canterbury Plains.
MetService SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH issued at 03:36 pm Saturday 03 January 2009 for: Christchurch, Canterbury Plains, Canterbury High Country and North Otago.
MetService SEVERE WEATHER WARNING issued at 4:11 pm 03-Jan-2009: Heavy rain about the Tararua Ranges and Mt Taranaki and also the Central North Island hills and ranges and severe northwest gales in Wairarapa have eased. WARNINGS NO LONGER IN FORCE: Heavy Rain Warnings lifted for Tararua Ranges and the hill country from Mt Taranaki towards the central North Island and into southern Waikato. Strong Wind Warning lifted for near hills and ranges of Wairarapa.
MetService SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH issued at 05:33 pm Saturday 03 January 2009 for: Marlborough, Canterbury Plains and Canterbury High Country.
North Island
Multi Hazard
at
North Island
Driving rain and hail raged throughout the afternoon across the top half of the North Island.
Wellington
Hail
at
Wellington
A hail storm was experienced in the Wairarapa on the 2nd.
The hail stones were 2 cm in diamater.
Traffic was brought to a standstill by the hail.
Some cars were dented by hail.
West Coast
Heavy Rain
at
West Coast
Heavy rain hammered the West Coast on the night of the 2nd.
Flooding
at
Callery River
The Callery River, near Franz Josef, was rose to 2.5m on the night of the 2nd - more than five times its usual 500 mm.
Flooding
at
Haast River
The Haast River was at 2.5 m on the night of the 2nd, after having risen from 1.3 m at noon.
Canterbury
High Wind / Gust
at
Canterbury
A windstorm hit Canterbury on the afternoon of the 2nd. The storm lasted barely an hour and was at its worst in mid-Canterbury.
Hail
A hail and thunder storm swept across Canterbury on the 3rd.
There were hail stones of golf ball size.
Federated Farmers estimated the hailstorm did well over $1 million of damage to crops. One farmer had $250,000 worth of crop damage and some farmers had lost their entire year's income. One farmer had some 40 hectares of rape seed crops stripped bare. The storm destroyed any crops in its path, many of which were only a couple of weeks away from being harvested. Vineyards and rape seed crops were amongst those hit hard. Vegetable growers also had their crops damaged.
The hail storm carved a 6-8 km wide path of destruction from Kirwee to Amberley. The heaviest hail stones fell from the Waimakariri River to north of Amberley.
Lightning
Almost 1200 lightning strikes were recorded in Canterbury in the space of an hour.
Heavy Rain
Heavy rain swelled rivers to dangerous levels.
There were unofficial reports of 20 mm (2 cm) of rain falling in an hour during the downpour on the afternoon of the 3rd.
Hail
at
Amberley
One vineyard between Amberley and Broomfield was heavily damaged.
High Wind / Gust
at
Ashburton
Wind wreaked havoc in Ashburton on the 2nd, with most of the damage being caused in an hour from about 5.30pm. Strong gusts brought down trees on power lines, causing short circuits and fires, and the traffic lights were out. There was a lot of building damage. One family lost their trampoline when it was blown over the neighbour's fence and a storage shed was blown 50 m across a main road and came to rest on a footpath. The Ashburton Volunteer Fire Brigade responded to about a dozen wind-related calls.
More than 10,000 homes around Ashburton lost their power. Some were without power until the next morning.
Winds of 120 km/h swept through.
A man broke his arm while on the roof of his house dealing with a damaged tree.
High Wind / Gust
at
Christchurch
In Christchurch, powerlines were brought down on the 2nd in Hawkins Road, Marshland, Bower Avenue, New Brighton, and Woodham Road, Linwood, disrupting the power supply. The fallen lines in Hawkins Road also caused a small grass fire.
Hail
Hail halted play at the Black Caps and West Indies one-dayer in Christchurch on the 3rd.
About 20 ha of pumpkins and onions beside Lower Styx Road suffered varying degrees of damage and another Christchurch grower also reported crop damage.
Christchurch International Airport was closed for half an hour from 4.15pm on the 3rd, but there were no major delays.
Flooding
There was surface flooding on some streets.
Lightning
at
Dunsandel
Lightning strikes on feeders in the Dunsandel and Lincoln areas affected power to up to 600 customers for about four hours on the 3rd.
Multi Hazard
at
Kairaki
A man spent 24 hours lost at sea after his jet ski broke down and an unexpected southerly storm blew up while he was off Kairaki beach on the 2nd. He was sucked out to the Godley Heads and endured a night of hail, rain, wind and lightning before he was rescued by a Russian trawler 13 kilometres out to sea on the night of the 3rd.
Lightning
at
Lincoln
Lightning strikes on feeders in the Dunsandel and Lincoln areas affected power to up to 600 customers for about four hours on the 3rd.
Multi Hazard
at
Timaru
On the night of the 2nd the winds changed to the south and thunder rolled across Timaru, bringing with it heavy rain.
Temperatures dropped from a reported 31 degC during the day to about 15 degC that night.
Heavy Rain
at
Waikuku Beach
At Waikuku Beach a house roof sprang a massive leak and heavy rain poured in, drenching everything inside.
Hail
at
Waipara
There were 2 cm hail stones in Waipara.
The hail storm lasted 5 minutes.
The hailbrought traffic to a standstill.
One car was left with a dozen dents in it's bodywork.
Otago
High Wind / Gust
at
Alexandra
Strong winds tore down powerlines and tree branches in the Alexandra area on the morning of the 2nd.
Heavy Rain
at
Queenstown
Heavy rain hammered Queenstown on the night of the 2nd.
Multi Hazard
At Queenstown, the temperature dropped from 20 degC at midday on the 2nd to 12 degC at 2pm.
Tornado
at
Waikouaiti
A tornado passed near the Waikouaiti township at about 12.25pm on the 3rd. For some minutes the tornado headed straight for the township from the south, during a hail storm.
The black tornado was believed to be several hundred metres high.
The tornado knocked limbs off several poplar trees, briefly blocking a 40 m stretch of Ramrock Rd.
A farmhouse about 1 km south of the township was damaged by the tornado. Tiles were ripped off the roof, windows smashed, trees splintered and nearby power lines felled. Sheep dog kennels were also blown away, but the dogs were uninjured.
Power to parts of the township was briefly disrupted at about 1pm before being quickly restored.
Southland
Heavy Rain
at
Southland
Fiordland received more than 100 mm (10.0 cm) of rain in 24 hours on the 1st and 2nd.
Flooding
at
Invercargill
High rainfall caused some flooding from blocked drains in Invercargill.
Heavy Rain
at
Te Anau
The Te Anau rodeo was cancelled on the 3rd because of heavy downpours.
References
- Headline: Unseasonable weather wreaks havoc in Canterbury.
- www.3news.co.nz, Source: 3 News, 3 January 2009, 6:30pm.
- Headline: Federated Farmers: hailstorms causes $1 million of damage.
- www.3news.co.nz, Source: RadioLive, 7 January 2009, 6:02am.
- Meteorological Society of New Zealand (Inc.). (2008). Climate summary for summer 2008-2009. Newsletter 116, March 2008. 6-14
- Headline: Improvement in weather.
- www.newstalkzb.co.nz, 4 January 2009, 6:20am.
- Headline: Cold, rough seas - and sharks.
- www.newstalkzb.co.nz, 4 January 2009, 1:20pm.
- Headline: Hailstorm hits Canterbury.
- www.newstalkzb.co.nz, 6 January 2009, 1:08pm.
- Headline: Gales wreak havoc as front sweeps up country.
- www.nzherald.co.nz, Source; NZPA, 3 January 2009, 7:55am.
- www.odt.co.nz, 4 January, 12:10pm. Healdine: Twister drama shakes Waikouaiti.
- www.odt.co.nz, 5 January, 5:03am. Healdine: Tornado damages buildings, spooks cat.
- Headline: $1m damage to crops from hail.
- www.radionz.co.nz, 7 January, 9:08am.
- Headline: Hail Storm Hits North Canterbury Farmers.
- www.scoop.co.nz, Source: Federated Farmers, 6 January 2009, 3:56pm.
- Headline: High winds bring down more Canterbury lines.
- www.stuff.co.nz, Source: Fairfix Media and NZPA, 3 January 2009.
- Headline: By thunder, the heavens opened.
- www.stuff.co.nz, Source: The Press, 5 January 2009.
- Headline: Unseasonal weather takes toll in south.
- www.stuff.co.nz, Source: The Southland Times, 3 January 2009.
- Headline: Rescue a miracle for jetskier drifting 24hrs.
- www.stuff.co.nz, Source: Sunday Star Times, 4 January 2009.
- Headline: Windy end to the golden weather.
- www.stuff.co.nz, Source: Timaru Herald, 3 January 2009.
- Headline: Wild weather pounds the country.
- tvnz.co.nz, Source: ONE News, 3 January 2009, 6:43pm.
- Headline: Late rally in the holiday weather.
- tvnz.co.nz, Source: NewstalkZB, 4 January 2009, 9:40am.
- Headline: Long night alone at sea for jetskier.
- tvnz.co.nz, Source: ONE News, 4 January 2009, 6:21pm.
- Headline: Hail storm wrecks Canterbury crops.
- tvnz.co.nz, Source: ONE News, 6 January 2009, 7:30pm.
- Headline: Hail-hit farmers' bill over $1 million.
- tvnz.co.nz, Source: NZPA, 7 January 2009, 10:37am.
- MetService Email Lists