04-Aug-2004
Wet Tidings
MetService meteorologists have issued some heavy rain warnings for Wednesday night and Thursday. The main areas likely
to be affected tonight are Nelson ranges and the northern slopes of the mountain in Taranaki. On Thursday the sodden
waterways of eastern Bay of Plenty may well be in for another trying time.
"A low pressure system deepened rapidly this morning in the southern Tasman Sea", commented MetService Weather
Ambassador, Bob McDavitt. "The frontal rain band associated with this system is forecast to make its way across western
parts of New Zealand overnight. It is then expected to stall over the Bay of Plenty on Thursday while a new low pressure
system forms."
The saturated waterways of Bay of Plenty survived a testing time from a wet day last Thursday. McDavitt stressed that
because this Thursday's front is likely to hover for a while over the Bay of Plenty it can be expected to deliver more
rain than last week's front. The heaviest falls will probably be near the eastern ranges and produce a peak in run-off
late on Thursday. "This system looks like it will behave normally, and thus it will NOT be a repeat of the mid-July
event."
ENDS