MetService Blog

Storm tide is the storm surge + the tide. King Tides occur soon after moon reaches its perigee within a day of a full or new moon phase.

This article was originally written by Erick Brenstrum and published in New Zealand Geographic, issue 99 September-October 2009

This article was written by Erick Brenstrum and originally published in New Zealand Geographic, issue 76, November-December 2005.

Written by Steve Ready Meteorologist

On average, about nine tropical cyclones form in the South Pacific tropics between November and April each year. Three or four of these leave the tropics and nearly all of them undergo a marked transformation to a mid-latitude cyclone – a completely different weather system – before they reach New Zealand.

Written by Wayde Beckman from the Health Sponsorship Council.
February 2011

 “I got windburnt today.”  “My lips feel windburnt.”  It’s something we hear from time to time (and even say ourselves) to explain red, sore, dry skin or lips after being outside.  And in this glorious country of ours, it’s hard to be outside and not feel the sweet caress (or fierce pummeling) of the wind.  But what is windburn?  And can the wind really burn our skin?

Tropical Cyclone Yasi

We have added a new feature to the "towns & cities" section on metservice.com. "Past Weather" is now located below the ten day forecast for most locations showing wind, air temperatures and rainfall in a graphical format.

The graph shows the elements for yesterday, the last 7 days, and the last 30 days, as well as 'historical' on a calendar monthly basis. The data is detailed further upon mouse-over and includes:

- the highest wind gust
- the direction the wind was blowing from
- the highest and lowest air temperatures; and
- rainfall

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All MetService inshore recreational marine forecast areas are now covered by a full warning service.  This extension of services started on Tuesday 7 December 2010. 

Addendum added on  20 Dec 2010 with images from Malcolm Potts