Issued at 12:52pm 15-Sep-2003
The Gusty Winds of spring are arriving.
MetService meteorologists are forecasting windy conditions for most of the coming week and for the start of next week.
Bouts of strong northwesterly wind that are typical of spring are now showing themselves, and may well be with us
on-and-off until November.
"These spring northwest winds are often associated with the equinox", commented MetService Weather Ambassador, Bob
McDavitt. "This year's equinox is coming up next Tuesday. As the sun gets directly over the equator it starts to shine
on and stir the air which has been kept chilled in the Antarctic dark for the last six months. So this is the time of
year with the strongest difference in temperature between the tropics and Antarctica, and this in turn strengthens the
westerly winds of the Roaring 40s."
Northwest wind gusts over 110 kilometres-per-hour were recorded on Wellington hilltops over the weekend and gusts to 90
kph are forecast for parts of Southland, Otago and South Canterbury by Tuesday evening. Since this is the start of our
windy season, it is a good time to check that anything that can fly with the wind is put out of harm's way.
ENDS