MEDIA RELEASE - Nelson Tasman Emergency Management

Nelson Tasman - Get ready for wind as ex-Cyclone Gabrielle moves south

Nelson Tasman residents are asked to get ready for strong winds this evening and into tomorrow as ex-cyclone Gabrielle travels south.

Nelson Mayor Nick Smith encouraged people to prepare.

“We’ve seen how damaging the Cyclone has been in the North Island, and we need everyone to take steps now. The Metservice have issued an Orange warning for the Southeast winds, which are expected to gust up to 120km/h. Powerlines may be affected by falling trees or branches.
“While we are not expecting heavy rain, the strong winds can be damaging, so extreme care should be taken especially in our parks and recreation areas”.

Tasman Mayor Tim King reiterated the need to be ready and safe.

“Our Emergency Management team are monitoring the event, and are on standby if required.
“People should consider staying off the roads, especially high-sided vehicles and motorbikes. Large swells are also likely, and boaties are recommended to check their moorings and stay off the water until the winds die down on Wednesday morning.”

Are you ready?

• Keep up to date with MetService weather forecasts.
• Be prepared for possible power outages and check emergency supplies. Make sure you have some cash at home or food and water to last three days, and a battery-powered radio to stay informed.
• Identify a safe place during the storm. This should be a place where there are no windows, skylights, or glass doors. These could break in strong winds and cause damage or injury.
• Work out what supplies you might need and make a plan. Have materials and tools ready to repair windows, such as tarpaulins, boards and duct tape.
• Bring inside or tie down anything that strong winds could break or pick up. If you have a trampoline, turn it upside down to minimise the surface area exposed to wind.
• Bring pets indoors. They can get unsettled by storms and it is more comforting and safer for them to be with you.
• Farmers and lifestyle block owners need to consider how and where you will relocate stock to protect from winds.
• Check on your neighbours and anyone who might need your help.
• Put safety first. Don’t take any chances.
• In an emergency, call 111.

Go to https://getready.govt.nz/en/emergency/storms/ for more tips on how to prepare.

During the storm
Stay inside. Don't walk around outside. Don't drive unless you really need to. Close exterior and interior doors and windows. Pull curtains and blinds over windows. This could prevent injury from flying glass if the window breaks.

Stay informed during an emergency. Listen to the radio and follow Nelson Tasman Civil Defence, Tasman District Council or Nelson City Council Facebook pages. Download the Antenno app from Google Play or the App Store to receive updates on your phone.

More information:
www.metservice.com/
www.facebook.com/nelsontasmancivildefenceandemergencymanagement
www.facebook.com/nelsoncitycouncil/
www.facebook.com/TasmanDistrictCouncil
getready.govt.nz/en/emergency/storms/

Nelson Tasman Emergency Management

Pigeon Post News Richmond, Tasman.

MetService News Release:- TOP OF THE SOUTH WEATHER WARNINGS

Impacts already felt from Cyclone Gabriell

12 Feb 2023 Forecast Winds at 7pm

12/02/2023

Covering period of Sunday 12 - Tuesday 14 February

The impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle are being felt as the extreme weather system bears down on Aotearoa New Zealand.  

 

Gale force winds have been recorded at many sites already: Kaitaia 90km/hr gust, Purerua 95km/h gust, Kerikeri 80km/h gust and Cape Reinga a slightly more exposed site recorded 140km/h wind gust. These have already cause power outages across Northland and on Waiheke Island, and Whangaparaoa 120km/hr and winds closed the Auckland Bridge as of 3pm today. Waves of nearly 11 metres have been recorded at the Bay of Islands at 4pm today. 

 

The whole of the North Island is on a Severe Weather Warning for Strong Wind - with Northland, Coromandel, Auckland including Great Barrier Island on the highest wind alert – MetService Red Warning. 

TASMAN / NELSON WEATHER WARNINGS IN MORE DETAIL BELOW - AND WEATHER MAP UPDATE FOR THE TOP OF SOUTH

Lisa Murray Head of Weather Communications explains, “I can’t remember a time when the whole of the North Island was on a wind warning. This is a huge sprawling weather system affecting the country.” 

 

“The worst affected areas can expect 350-450mm of rain, 120-140km/hr wind gusts, and dangerous waves and coastal inundation, especially at high tide.” 

 

MetService Red Warnings for Heavy Rain are in place for Northland, Auckland, Tairāwhiti Gisborne north of Tolaga Bay, and Coromandel. These warnings cover from today (Sunday) through to Tuesday (apart from Northland which will ease on Tuesday) with the weather already affecting areas in the north.  

 

Orange Warnings for Heavy Rain are in place for Bay of Plenty, the rest of the east coast of the North Island, parts of the Marlborough including Kaikoura. 

“Extreme rain and wind are expected for many North Island regions, accompanied by phenomenal seas along northern and eastern shores, and significant storm surge near, and slightly in advance of, the cyclones centre,” Lisa sums up the event. 

 

“The wind of this strength combined with rain means rain could be almost horizontal making it very difficult to walk in and rain could get under the eaves of houses adding to the flooding risk.  

“This is a really extreme and impactful event. People could lose power or become isolated.  Listen to local authorities and your local Civil Defence and know where your local evacuation centre is,” adds Lisa.  

 

“While the system has been “downgraded” from a tropical cyclone, this does not mean it has weakened in terms of impacts to New Zealand. In fact, it is intensifying and spreading the strong wind and heavy rain across a wider area affecting the whole of the North Island in some way. At this point MetService will refer to weather system as Cyclone Gabrielle,” adds Lisa.   

This is an unfolding situation and forecasts will be updated - so it is important to stay in the know. Details can also be found at MetService.com (http://bit.ly/AllWarnings).  

Weather Warnings Top of the South:

 TOP OF THE SOUTH  WEATHER WARNINGS DETAILED BELOW - TOP OF SOUTH WEATHER MAP UPDATE

Heavy Rain Warning - Orange

Period: 18hrs from 6am Tue, 14 Feb - midnight Tue, 14 Feb

Area: Eastern Marlborough south of Blenheim, including Kaikoura Coast 

Forecast: Expect 100 to 160 mm of rain or more to accumulate. Peak rates of 10 to 20 mm/h.

Impact: Heavy rain may cause streams and rivers to rise rapidly. Surface flooding and slips are also possible and driving conditions may be hazardous.
Issued: 9:14pm Sun 12 Feb
Next update: 11:00am Mon 13 Feb

Strong Wind Warning - Orange


Period: 24hrs from 9pm Mon, 13 Feb - 9pm Tue, 14 Feb

Area: Marlborough, Nelson/Tasman and Buller

Forecast: Southeast winds are forecast to be severe at times, with gusts reaching 120 km/h in exposed places. However, damaging gusts of 130 km/h or more are possible about eastern parts of the Tasman District and northern parts of Buller for a time during Tuesday morning.

Impact: Strong wind gusts could damage trees, powerlines and unsecured structures. Driving may be hazardous, especially for high-sided vehicles and motorcycles.
Issued: 9:32pm Sun 12 Feb
Next update: 11:00am Mon 13 Feb

 

1 Watch in force for this location:

Strong Wind Watch


Period: 24hrs from midnight Mon, 13 Feb - midnight Tue, 14 Feb

Area: Westland north of Fox Glacier

Forecast: Southeast winds may approach or possibly exceed severe gale in exposed places, especially inland.
Issued: 9:14pm Sun 12 Feb
Next update: 11:00am Mon 13 Feb

MetService

Pigeon Post News Richmond, Tasman.

"Peaceful Towns" Art Competition a winner for the participants and Mayor Tim who selected them - 2022.

International Mayors for Peace children's art competition

Artwork by Aria Robertson

Artwork by Lucy Gauntlett

Two young Tasman artists have taken out top placings in the international Mayors for Peace children's art competition "Peaceful Towns" 2022.

More than 4,300 artworks were whittled down to 239 finalists, and Tasman’s Lucy Gauntlett and Aria Robertson won second and third place respectively in the six to 10-year-old category. 

The competition, run by the office of the Mayor of Hiroshima in Japan, began in 1982 and this year attracted entries from 66 cities across 14 countries.

Lucy Gauntlett from Ranzau School drew inspiration while reading under a tree in a park where she saw two friends walking a dog and could hear peaceful music.

Lucy says there was also a peaceful fishpond, and she could see someone practicing yoga. “It was a peaceful park setting and I felt happy in the fresh air.”

Aria Robertson from Brightwater’s artwork shares a vision for more acceptance, love and peace for all people in all communities around the world.

Lucy and Aria’s pictures were selected by Mayor Tim King and were included in the nine top entries from a record 77 works submitted by students from across Tasman District, that were sent to Japan for the competition.

Tasman District Council

Pigeon Post News Richmond, Tasman.

METSERVICE - Cyclone Gabrielle expected to bring significant severe weather to northern and central New Zealand

WHAT EFFECT WILL THE TROPICAL CYCLONE GABRIELLE HAVE ON TASMAN/NELSON

'METSERVICE SEVERE WEATHER OUTLOOK IMAGE' FOR TASMAN / NELSON MON 13 FEB TO TUE 14 FEB SEVERE GALES: E-SW CONFIDENCE HIGH - METSERVICE

After an intense weather system last August in the Nelson and Tasman region, understandably there is interest as to the possible effects of this coming weather system.

At this stage, the Nelson and Tasman areas should remain largely unaffected by rain, with some rainfall expected but none of which looks to reach warning criteria or have significant impacts to the area.

 

Winds could be something to watch a bit closer, however, as strong southeasterlies come though from the latter part of Monday into Tuesday. At this stage the Nelson and Tasman areas are in the area of high possibility of severe gales on the Severe Weather Outlook on our website https://www.metservice.com/warnings/severe-weather-outlook

This Severe Weather Outlook states:

Cyclone Gabrielle is expected to move southeastwards out of the tropics and will affect New Zealand through Tuesday. This is likely to be a very significant adverse weather event, and Severe Weather Warnings and Watches are in force for many areas, including Heavy Swell Warnings.

On Monday and Tuesday there is High Confidence that east to southeast gales, then south to southwest gales, will become severe over the entire North Island and the upper South Island, as indicated on the chart.

There is also High Confidence that rainfall accumulations will meet warning criteria over Northland, Auckland, Coromandel Peninsula, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa, and Moderate Confidence over Waikato, Waitomo, Taumarunui, Taranaki, Taupo and Bay of Plenty.

On Tuesday, there is Moderate Confidence on Tuesday of significant heavy rain for Marlborough and Wellington.

Finally, there is High Confidence that easterly gales will become severe over the Chatham Islands later on Tuesday and Wednesday, accompanied by heavy northeast swell and sea.

MetService will be keeping a close eye on places expected to be affected and will be issuing Warnings and Watches accordingly, as well as expected impacts.

MetService Confidence ratings:

Low confidence:
a 20% likelihood (or 1 chance in 5) that the event will actually happen.
Moderate confidence:
a 40% likelihood (or 2 chances in 5) that the event will actually happen.
High confidence:
a 60% likelihood (or 3 chances in 5) that the event will actually happen.

MetService Issued 11 Feb 2023

Pigeon Post News Richmond, Tasman.

Weather News Release

MetService monitoring developing tropical cyclone

6/2/2023

Covering period of Monday 6 - Thursday 9 February

Tropical Cyclone of interest north west of New Caledonia

After a week of severe weather for both the North and South Islands, MetService has now lifted all remaining severe weather watches and warnings across the country.

A high pressure system building to the west of the country is expected to bring more settled weather for the next few days, then a cold front moving up the east coast on Wednesday will bring some showers and cool the temperatures back down. 

MetService Meteorologist Jessie Owen says, “The front that moved up the country on Sunday has weakened and will clear the North Island tonight, taking with it the humid air which has been bringing heavy rain to northern areas and hot temperatures to the south. It should start to feel a bit cooler this week.” 

 All eyes are now on the tropics, where a tropical low in the Coral Sea is expected to develop into a cyclone in the next few days. MetService meteorologists are monitoring this system closely and are posting daily updates via our Tropical Cyclone Activity page at https://www.metservice.com/warnings/tropical-cyclone-activity  

The potential tropical cyclone is expected to curve to the southeast later this week, then track south of New Caledonia and possibly towards the far north of New Zealand next weekend. If this system does pass close to the North Island, it will be another significant weather event potentially affecting vulnerable areas which are still recovering from recent severe weather.

Impacts for New Zealand will be highly dependent on the path the cyclone could take, but may include strong winds, heavy rain, and large swells on eastern coasts if it passes close to the North Island. It is important to emphasise that the cyclone’s path is still uncertain as the system hasn’t yet developed. Owen says “we will have a much better idea about the path this system will take, and any related severe weather, in another couple of days once it has formed.”  

 MetService will continue to monitor the development of this tropical low and will provide updates as more information becomes available. Should any severe weather be expected to impact New Zealand, more detailed advice will be provided in Outlooks, Watches and Warnings for severe weather via the MetService website at https://www.metservice.com/warnings/home

Metservice

Pigeon Post News, Richmond, Tasman.

SUNDAY - WEATHER WARNING AND WATCH FOR TASMAN

 

One weather warnings, and one weather watch for Tasman on Sunday

Heavy Rain Warning - Orange

Period: 8hrs from 2pm - 10pm Sun, 5 Feb

Area: Tasman west of Motueka 

Forecast: Expect 70 to 100 mm of rain about the ranges, and lesser amounts nearer the coast. Peak rates of 15 to 25 mm/h.

Impact: Heavy rain may cause streams and rivers to rise rapidly. Surface flooding and slips are also possible and driving conditions may be hazardous.

Issued: 9:17am Sat 4 Feb
Next update: 9:00pm Sat 4 Feb

MetService Area of Warning and Watch

Heavy Rain Watch

Period: 8hrs from 3pm - 11pm Sun, 5 Feb

Area: Marlborough Sounds, Rai Valley, and the Richmond and Bryant ranges.

Forecast: A period of heavy rain. Rainfall amounts may approach warning criteria.

Issued: 9:17am Sat 4 Feb
Next update: 9:00pm Sat 4 Feb

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TASMAN REGIONAL FORECAST

TOMORROW 5 Feb

Showers increasing, then turning to rain in the afternoon, heavy at times. Rain easing in the evening. Northerlies, strong from midday and gale at times in exposed places, easing late.

Issued 11:26am Sat 4 Feb

MONDAY 6 Feb

Fine, apart from areas of morning cloud. Westerlies, easing in the evening.

Issued 9:51am Sat 4 Feb

MetService

Pigeon Post News, Richmond, Tasman.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency - Takata Hill - SH60

SH60 Tākaka Hill resurfacing work begins this Tuesday, 7 February 2023

Road Maintenance on  Tākaka Hill


3 February 2023 7:55 am | Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency

Local residents and regular users of State Highway 60 over the Tākaka Hill need to be ready for delays as planned maintenance work is carried out on the route.

There will be resealing work done to parts of the road on both sides of the hill. Other maintenance work will also be undertaken, such as clearing water channels and fixing slips and guard rails

The highway will be subject to daytime stop/go traffic control from this Tuesday, 7 February to Tuesday, 21 February. These are likely to create 15-minute delays for traffic.

Then, between Sunday, 26 February and the morning of Friday, 17 March, there will also be night closures of the road, five days a week, (Sunday to Thursday nights) with a short opening around 1 am for queued traffic. The night closures end at 5:30 am on Friday mornings.

Because of the road's narrowness and the need to keep road crews safe, the road must be closed at night while this work is done. Closures also allow contractors to get work done much faster. The nature of the materials being worked with (eg asphalt), means some of this work has to be done during the day. The material can’t be laid successfully under colder night-time conditions.

Road users should expect and plan for delays while this work is being done. It is crucial drivers observe speed limits in road work areas and follow the instructions of contractors.

Waka Kotahi understands the road works will be inconvenient for residents and regular road users. However, this maintenance work is essential for keeping the highway resilient over the coming winter. We want to thank locals for their patience and understanding as these works are completed.

The roadworks are weather dependent and may be rescheduled.

Daytime Stop/Go traffic controls

• Day time stop/go traffic management will be in place from 7 to 21 February.
• It will run from 6 am to 6 pm.
• Drivers should plan ahead and expect short delays.

Night closures

These will run from 26 February to 17 March
The closures will be between 8 pm at night and 5:30 am the following morning
The road will open once each night around 1 am.
Vehicles travelling over the hill need to be at the Aaron Creek Road closure point at 12.30 am and the Riwaka Valley Road closure point by 1 am

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency

Pigeon Post News, Richmond, Tasman