Snowmygod lol
Victoria University students Nick Meehan and Anjali Samra enjoying Wellington’s first major snowfall in decades. Photo
courtesy of Nick Meehan.
Social networking sites Facebook and Twitter have provided round-the-clock updates on the fierce snowstorm that is
sweeping the country. Despite (or perhaps because of) school closures and road blocks, most Kiwis seem delighted with the unusual weather, posting pictures of snowmen and excited snow-related statuses at a furious rate.
Not everyone is thrilled with the weather conditions, however. Wellington Zoo uploaded several pictures of disgruntled lions, no doubt confused at weather never-before-seen in either Wellington or their natural habitat. Service workers have
even more reason to be upset; KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks employees were informed they would receive no compensation for their lost hours at work. Indeed, many shops have shut down, prompting christina_evans of Christchurch to comment: “Walked around my neighbourhood and discovered two types of shops are open: dairies and the
liquor store #snowmaggedon #essentialindustry?”
City councils and weather services have found Facebook and Twitter very helpful for alerting people about power cuts
providing other helpful information. ChristchurchCC, for example, is making regular updates on road management and urged residents to “keep warm, keep safe”.
A collection of links to snow-related news, forecasts and pictures can be found below.
Fox News on Wellington snow: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/08/14/wellington-delights-in-snow-as-cold-blast-hits-nz/
Snow surfing! http://twitpic.com/5uw77k
Snow flowers! http://redgage.com/photos/nimbleful/snow-flowers.html
Snow in Auckland: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFh74AXUmLs
TVNZ liveblogging snow: http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/live-updates-winter-storm-hits-nz-4351506
Snowfall warnings from Metservice: http://www.metservice.com/national/warnings/road-snowfall-warnings
ENDS