Weather News Release -

MetService.

Snow and a Tropical Cyclone

24/10/2023

Covering period of Tuesday 24 - Friday 27 October

MetService is forecasting a week of contrasting weather, with warm temperatures mid-week giving way to a chilly blast that is expected to bring unseasonable cold and snow to low levels on Friday for the South Island. This all plays out while Severe Tropical Cyclone (TC) Lola in the western Pacific tracks towards Vanuatu, with MetService meteorologists keeping a keen eye on what it might mean for Aotearoa New Zealand at the end of the weekend into next week. 

The working week kicks off with a strong, moist northwesterly flow that brings wet weather for the western South Island, Tararua Range and Taranaki Maunga, as well as strong winds for central Aotearoa New Zealand. 

MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane comments: “Heavy Rain and Strong Wind Watches have been issued to cover many areas in the South Island, lower North Island and Mount Taranaki into Wednesday morning. This weather system is a bit of a taster of what’s to come later this week.”

“Temperatures rise to the mid to upper-20s on Wednesday and Thursday for the eastern stretch of the country. Christchurch, Kaikōura, Napier and Hastings could see some of their warmest temperatures this spring on Thursday."

The truly changeable nature of spring is on full display from Thursday to Friday, as the next approaching weather system comes through with a contrasting cold blast. 

“It will feel like someone has turned the dial back to winter mode. Dunedin, for example, goes from a warm 21°C maximum on Thursday to just an 8°C high on Friday – a very noticeable change!” Makgabutlane says.

The bitterly cold southwesterly flow also brings showers of snow to much of the South Island on Friday, even falling near sea level in Southland and coastal Otago, including Clutha. 

“This may have an impact on livestock and farmers are encouraged to take advantage of the next few days to prepare accordingly. Travel may also be impacted on Friday as widespread snow showers are expected across the South Island,” Makgabutlane details. 

In addition to the icy blast, the weather system brings a dousing of heavy rain to the western South Island and strong winds for much of the South Island and lower North Island on Thursday and Friday.

Meanwhile, Vanuatu and the western Pacific are bracing for Severe Tropical Cyclone Lola, which as of Tuesday morning was a Category 5, making it the most intense tropical cyclone to form ahead of the official start of the season (1 November to 30 April) in recorded history. Thoughts are with our neighbours in the Pacific.

Signals at the moment are that the system will weaken as it heads south, but is likely to interact with another system forming in the Tasman Sea.

“There is still plenty of time to clarify where and what impacts the remains of Lola will have on Aotearoa New Zealand. Early indications are that into early next week the northern parts of the country are most likely to see wetter weather and strong winds, while high pressure builds across the southern parts of Aotearoa New Zealand,” Makgabutlane comments. 

“The MetService forecasting team will continue to monitor the situation in the Tropics. The best advice is to stay up to date with the latest MetService forecasts and any Watches and Warnings issued.”

Severe TC Lola will be bringing strong winds, heavy rain and damaging swell to Vanuatu and New Caledonia, and people in these areas are advised to keep up with any Warnings issued by the local meteorological centres and emergency services.  While Severe TC Lola remains in the Tropics, Fiji Meteorological Service will be producing the warnings and track maps, which are available on their website.

Meteorological Operations MetService.

Pigeon Post News, Richmond.

What do you want freshwater in the Tasman region to look like?

Riwaka. Photo credit Tasman District Council.

 Tasman District Council - opening of engagement for Freshwater Management Unit Draft Environmental Outcomes

Tasman District Council is working on the development of a Land and Freshwater plan, and we want your help to get it right. 

 

We have already defined the Freshwater Management Units, the smaller areas the region will be broken down into under the new plan and set draft Visions and Values for each FMU.

 

Now we need to define the Environmental Outcomes for each of those values. 

 

The draft Environmental Outcomes will set the direction for the new plan change and will be used to set the targets and limits for land and freshwater use in the region, and the rules that we need to achieve them.

 

As the Outcomes define the end goal, it’s important they get them right, and that they reflect what the people of Tasman want the region’s land and freshwater to look like in the future. 

Pines Ford swimming hole. Photo credit TDC.

 

At each stage of the process, we have been engaging with the public to make sure that people agree with what we are doing. 

 

We also recognise that any changes to land and freshwater use will mean changes for people working in the rural and environmental sectors, so we really want to hear from those people. 

 

The engagement on the Environmental Outcomes stage 3 opens on 20 October and closes 30 November 2023. You can find out more, and have your say at: https://shape.tasman.govt.nz/mountains-to-the-sea 

 

Please note - we are not currently planning any public engagement events, as our online approach has yielded more feedback to date. 

 

However, we invite you to attend one of our webinars over the engagement period, which anyone can attend and ask questions: 

• Tuesday 7^th November – Midday 
• Wednesday 8^th November – 6:30pm  
• Wednesday 22^nd November– 6.30pm 
• See Shape Tasman for more details.  

 

We are also happy to attend community or industry group meetings to speak to them about the Environmental Outcomes and the new plan. Just contact us on: freshwaterplan@tasman.govt.nz 

 

Tasman District Council Communications.

Pigeon Post News, Richmond.

Heaphy Track now fully open

The Heaphy Track is now fully open says DOC.

The Heaphy Track Great Walk fully reopens as a through walk

The Heaphy Track Great Walk is fully open as a through walk - with celebrations at the West Coast end.

A section of the track between Heaphy and MacKay huts has been closed since the storms in February 2022 caused severe damage, including the loss of three bridges, most significantly the Heaphy River bridge.

DOC has organised events to mark the reopening and thank local communities affected by the closure for their patience while the track was partially closed.

DOC Buller Operations Manager Suvi Van Smit says DOC has been very mindful of the impact the closure has had on the communities at both ends of the 82-kilometre track.

“The Heaphy Track is an important asset for Karamea, the West Coast and Golden Bay.”

“The quickest most straightforward solution for replacing the Heaphy Bridge may have been to use the same design at the same place, but we had to ensure that whatever solution was put in place it would endure and this took time.”

A hydrology report found a new Heaphy Bridge at the old site could soon be threatened by future flooding.

The most resilient solution turned out to be to build two bridges, one across the Heaphy River downstream from the previous bridge, the other over the Lewis River with a small section of new track in between.

The new Heaphy Bridge is well above the 100-year climate change adjusted flood level, Suvi van Smit says.

“I want to pay tribute to the outstanding work done to get us to here - to all the DOC staff involved from dealing with the initial response to the storm damage through to where we are now with the Heaphy re-bridged and to Abseil Access and Westreef for the work they’ve done.”

The celebrations started with Ngāti Waewae blessing the new bridge across the Heaphy River. 

This was followed by a community planting and morning tea at Kohaihai plus a ribbon cutting at the Kohaihai River Bridge which marks the start/end of the track on the West Coast side.

The event then shift to the Karamea Pulse Energy Centre for presentations on the reconstruction work, the significance of the area to Ngāti Waewae and the history of the track.

Suvi van Smit says over 11,600 bednights have already been booked for track huts between 19 October and the end of June next year.

“It’s clear the word is out that this legendary Great Walk is fully open for business again. Here’s hoping for a great summer for people to make the most of the Heaphy and everything else that Karamea and Golden Bay have to offer.”

More information:

Until mid-December, when construction of the Lewis River bridge is finished, it will be necessary to ford the Lewis River. In normal flow, this is an ankle-height crossing of approximately 20 metres.

During this time, DOC rangers will be onsite to assess river conditions and provide guidance to track users. If the river becomes unsafe to cross, DOC staff will advise track users that it’s not safe to cross.

Department of Conservation.

Pigeon Post News, Richmond.

Rāhui in place - MOTUEKA

Rāhui in place for part of Motueka coastline from 10.00 am on Wednesday 18 October 2023, covers the area indicated in yellow in the map above. Credit map Tasman District Council.

Rāhui in place for part of Motueka coastline

Te Tauihu iwi have placed a rāhui across the Motueka coastline of Te Tauihu o Te Waka-a-Māui, as a result of a failure of parts of the Motueka Wastewater Treatment Plant facility which has seen seepage of treated water into the Motueka estuary. 

Last month Council engineers discovered that part of the filtration system at the Motueka Wastewater treatment plant was showing signs of failure and while it was still functioning, it was not working at optimum performance.

The part of the system causing concern are membranes used in the final filtering stage after the wastewater treatment process. 

The Council is focusing on keeping the oxidation pond levels constant (to avoid an uncontrolled overflow) by pumping any partially treated wastewater to the adjacent former soakage area and allowing it to seep and overflow to the former wetland area.

The rāhui, which took effect at 10.00 am on Wednesday 18 October, covers the area indicated in yellow in the attached map.

 

The rāhui covers the coastline and river mouths from North of the saltwater baths to the Riuwaka river mouth and prevents the gathering of seafood and kai in these areas, as well as swimming and entering the water.  

The rāhui was implemented by the hau kāinga whānau of Motueka with the support of the eight mana whenua iwi of Te Tauihu and Tasman District Council.

A rōpū of mana whenua iwi gathered at Motueka for karakia to acknowledge the implementation of the rāhui.  

 

The area will continue to be monitored and the rāhui will stay in place until levels of contamination are considered low enough to be safe to return to activities in the area and our whānau, hapū and iwi are happy that it is safe to lift the rāhui.

Click link to view map

https://mcusercontent.com/7b03d53f27269a285cc2174f5/_compresseds/373024e3-38bd-7da9-25bf-cd1f42880ef2.jpg

Tasman District Council, communications.

Pigeon Post News, Richmond.

Wanderers Sports Club, Brightwater, new hoops opening - Saturday 14 October

Mayor Tim King enjoying the action, straight from the farm, at Saturday’s basketball court opening at Brightwater. Photo credit to Wanderers Sports Club and Tasman District Council.

Team effort helps Wanderers new hoops happen 

With the assistance of local businesses, organisations and the Brightwater community, a previously underutilised part of Taylors Contracting Wanderers Community Sports Club facilities has been transformed into a space where all ages and abilities can pursue their hoop dreams.  

Work to install a full-size basketball court complete with two new high-quality, permanent Airtime Hoops was completed during the October school holidays.

 

The new equipment is located on the hard court area beside the Wanderers’ clubrooms, with new markings painted in the club’s familiar blue and yellow colours adding a ‘swish’ finish to the set-up. 

Saturday’s basketball court opening at Brightwater. Photo credit to Wanderers Sports Club and Tasman District Council.

An opening day was held on Saturday 14 October - with Tasman district Councillors, Mayor Tim King and members of the Nelson Giants basketball team present to try out the new hoops.   

Wanderers General Manager Jimmy van der Colk said the courts have been underutilised ever since netball was centralised to Saxton Stadium. 

 

“Seeing families playing basketball with the old netball hoops provided the motivation needed to start rejuvenating the ‘wasted’ space.”

 

“Given the popularity of basketball and the minimal barriers to participation - all you need is a ball - it was a no brainer to pursue this project.”

 

“We put up a temporary water-based basketball hoop as a trial and were blown away by the number of people using it. As we were putting it together a group from the skate park ran home to grab their basketballs.

Children having a great time on Saturday at the opening of the new basketball court Brightwater. Photo credit to Wanderers Sports Club and Tasman District Council.

Wanderers approached OneForty One New Zealand and NBS who were both keen to provide funding toward the project, allowing the purchase of the two basketball hoops. 

 

Further support was provided by McDonald Contracting & Construction and the Tasman District Council

who pitched in to carry out concrete works and paint the courts.

  

In addition, several keen locals volunteered to assemble the hoops and fundraise for the install by organising quiz nights. 

Jimmy said Wanderers are grateful to all these businesses and organisations for helping us to increase

and improve sporting opportunities for our local communities, creating a great asset for minimal cost. 

“It's been amazing seeing the court become popular with families, primary aged kids and teenagers just shooting hoops or playing 3 on 3.” 

 

Brent Williams, NBS Branch Manager, Richmond says: “Our financial support for Wanderers goes beyond just numbers. Together with all the other investment partners, we’re building a stronger, healthier more vibrant community through the power of sports.” 

The adjustable height function of the hoops provided increased opportunities for wheelchair players to enjoy the game of basketball, with a number of chairs made available for the public to use at Saturday’s

opening. 

Plenty of enjoyment at the opening of the very special basketball court Brightwater. Photo credit to Wanderers Sports Club and Tasman District Council.

Local advocate for Youth Disability Sports Neisha Kindley said wheelchair basketball allowed participation by people of all abilities and ages. The sport offered kids in the region a chance to experience something new and is not just reserved for people who use wheelchairs in their day-to-day life. “We’re really pleased that the new court has considered this variance of the game of basketball.” 

Matt Vernick, Disability & Inclusion Lead, Basketball NZ added it was “great to see more opportunities in Tasman for people to get on court and play.”  

“It’s awesome that Wanderers has recognised that this is an easy way to be inclusive.” 

Also being promoted at the opening was the Girls Got Game initiative.  “Based on Basketball New Zealand’s Kiwi Hoops programme, Girls Got Game aims to introduce more young girls to basketball and encourage them to continue being active and enjoy basketball with their friends,” said Denise Coughlan, General Manager Nelson Basketball.

Credited to the Wanderers Sports Club and TDC Communications.

Pigeon Post News, Richmond.