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climate
November 2009 
What is your favorite sort of weather?
Posted on Jun 29th, 2009
by 
Ted
Ted
This is in Response to the Questions and Reflections for June 28, 2009:
I love the variability of it.
Here in Kaikoura it can be very changeable.
This time of year we can go from around 4deg C in a Southerly to about 26 C in a NW in about 4 hours.
We frequently get Southerlies over 60 knots, and occasionally over 90 knots.
As a pilot I oneday flew a Cesna 172 up to the base of a very small funnel cloud (only about 20ft across) and was amazed by the force of its winds as it flipped the aircraft on its side.
Another day I was traveling north over the Waikato and came close to a large CB (black thunderhead cloud). It was the most awesome cloud I have seen in my 53 year, and as I got within about 10 miles of it I saw it's base start to spread, and noticed that I was being drawn towards it. I ended up diving away from the cloud, and decending from 4,500 ft to about 800ft at full throttle to get out of its influence. The power of that thing was awe inspiring.
Another time about 30 years ago I was looking South from my home on the Hauraki plains and saw an awesome front rolling up the plains towards us. It was taking about 15 seconds for a feature in the cloud to appear at about 1000 ft and roll up to about 4,000 ft and disappear. I got the inverter and gas cooker out of the shed, and had dinner cooking on gas and the TV on the car battery when the power went off. It stayed off for almost a full day.
I've been at sea in excess of 80 knots 3 times, and once in 60 knots in a 12 ft tin boat - that was exciting (read terrifying) for the 15 minutes or so it took for the sqall to blow through. It was a clear air sqall line - no cloud indicating it coming. It just came off the land towards me as a black line - I was about 2 miles out to sea when it hit, and about 5 miles out by the time it passed, and I could turn back for home. All I could do was to tray and quarter the seas and stay in the throughs.
I was out hunting in the Uraweras one winters day when a SW front came through, and it got very cold very quick, freezing rain. Even though I ran back to the hut, my hand was frozen to the rifle barrel when I got there. Had to start a fire left handed to thaw my right hand free,
Right now it is mid winter, there is hail on the roof, and the fire is going, the dogs curled up near it on the floor, and my wife playing guitar.
Here in Kaikoura it can be very changeable.
This time of year we can go from around 4deg C in a Southerly to about 26 C in a NW in about 4 hours.
We frequently get Southerlies over 60 knots, and occasionally over 90 knots.
As a pilot I oneday flew a Cesna 172 up to the base of a very small funnel cloud (only about 20ft across) and was amazed by the force of its winds as it flipped the aircraft on its side.
Another day I was traveling north over the Waikato and came close to a large CB (black thunderhead cloud). It was the most awesome cloud I have seen in my 53 year, and as I got within about 10 miles of it I saw it's base start to spread, and noticed that I was being drawn towards it. I ended up diving away from the cloud, and decending from 4,500 ft to about 800ft at full throttle to get out of its influence. The power of that thing was awe inspiring.
Another time about 30 years ago I was looking South from my home on the Hauraki plains and saw an awesome front rolling up the plains towards us. It was taking about 15 seconds for a feature in the cloud to appear at about 1000 ft and roll up to about 4,000 ft and disappear. I got the inverter and gas cooker out of the shed, and had dinner cooking on gas and the TV on the car battery when the power went off. It stayed off for almost a full day.
I've been at sea in excess of 80 knots 3 times, and once in 60 knots in a 12 ft tin boat - that was exciting (read terrifying) for the 15 minutes or so it took for the sqall to blow through. It was a clear air sqall line - no cloud indicating it coming. It just came off the land towards me as a black line - I was about 2 miles out to sea when it hit, and about 5 miles out by the time it passed, and I could turn back for home. All I could do was to tray and quarter the seas and stay in the throughs.
I was out hunting in the Uraweras one winters day when a SW front came through, and it got very cold very quick, freezing rain. Even though I ran back to the hut, my hand was frozen to the rifle barrel when I got there. Had to start a fire left handed to thaw my right hand free,
Right now it is mid winter, there is hail on the roof, and the fire is going, the dogs curled up near it on the floor, and my wife playing guitar.
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