Hard News: When the Weather is the News
190 Responses
First ←Older Page 1 2 3 4 5 … 8 Newer→ Last
-
rain turned to sleet here on the hill, about half of our snow has melted in our back yard, just not in the street - schools are closed again.
My son in his cold student flat was seen yesterday riding a couch on a ladder down his street
The squall that's just coming in right now seems colder (more snow, less rain in the sleet) - we'll run out of gas today or tomorrow (still have firewood for a week or two)
David I hope you guys miss the rest of it and things warm up
-
I know Aucklanders must seem mildly ridiculous to the southern latitudes, but it last snowed in central Auckland *before World War II started*. Yow!
(Our new house was built by a recent immigrant from the UK. It is insulated out the wazoo. Thanks dude.)
(Also: fucking hell, David.)
-
Lilith __, in reply to
Oh, David. If I believed in a deity I would be shaking my fist at them right now.
Although I'm in a liveable house and really have nothing to complain about while the utilities are still on...I'm not enjoying the snow. In late July we had it lying thickly for days and days and still unmelted in some places a week later, the heaviest and longest-lying snow I can remember ever seeing in Chch. And now, again?? I know in Chch all bets against Mother Nature's fury are totally off, but, really??
I want normality! Boring times, where are you?! Trivial inconveniences, petty disputes, minor anxieties, come back, I miss you!!
-
3410,
and wondered if that poor 3 News reporter doing a live cross from Mt Vic might actually die on camera.
Poor bugger. I was thinking, just do it from inside the car.
-
I remember reading about two years ago (forgive me, I can't find the citation) that climate change would put more energy into Antarctica, move its winds north, and increase the likelihood of severe polar blasts heading north. So, warmer for us, apart from when it isn't. Niwa is fairly confident about stronger winds, but consider that evidence is unclear about storminess itself.
-
Lilith __, in reply to
My son in his cold student flat was seen yesterday riding a couch on a ladder down his street
Now that's style! :-)
-
giovanni tiso, in reply to
but it last snowed in central Auckland *before World War II started*. Yow!
I hope this doesn't imply causation.
-
Kumara Republic, in reply to
I love how the people in that that cuba mall video run the gamut from full 5-layer wraps to t-shirts. Wellingtonians are amazing.
Today I'm not changing out of my pyjamas.
And I'm still wearing black. Works all year round, irrespective of how many layers.
TelstraClear's broadband was knocked out all last night... talk about cabin fever.
-
3410,
How about setting up a donation thing for Haywood's power bill? I'm in for $20.
-
Ouch David. I now feel slightly guilty for admitting how grateful I am to the builder who brought forward fixing my roof and did it on Friday to beat the cold snap.
It's just me at home most of the time, so I'm heating the office during waking hours, the bedroom during sleeping hours, and I've set the night-store up to keep the chill off the hallway. Kind of wishing I'd had the walls filled at the same time I had had insulation installed in the roof and underfloor. But we are double-glazed and the windows account for large amounts of wall.
4-6 inches on the back lawn this morning. My parents report 5-7 inches out Sheffield way with patches/drifts up to 12 inches.
-
BenWilson, in reply to
So, unless CERA can do a deal on our special circumstances, it looks like we won’t be able to stay in Christchurch.
Well, there is always renting, I guess. Could be a good option until the earth stops shaking your assets to pieces.
The four-year-old is sick, and the seven-month-old fractious (possibly getting sick).
Poor little things. How awful.
In its pre-earthquake state, the house was insulated above code, so I guess the polystyrene that I duct-taped over the place where the house has broken in two isn’t helping much.
It's probably making a huge difference over what it would be if you hadn't done that. Your spirit through this has been amazing.
-
Robert Urquhart, in reply to
How about setting up a donation thing for Haywood’s power bill? I’m in for $20.
+$ (and predicting the next post from David will be in protest)
-
David Haywood, in reply to
Damn. Damn, damn, damn.
Well, I think perhaps that post was written at a low moment, when I had lost my usual optimism.
Bob just vomited (neatly caught by Jen in her empty glass of morning orange juice ) and now says he feels better. The baby did an enormous poo -- and started smiling again immediately afterwards. The snow covers up all the cracks and sinkholes in the road and makes it look very pretty.
And Jen points out that we could stay in CHCH, as long as we don't mind trying to find a house in the green-zoned part of East Christchurch. The thing is -- with my recent seismological research -- I don't want to move anywhere with an altitude less than 16 metres above mean sea level. That rather limits our choices.
But there are plenty of nice parts of Canterbury at this altitude not in CHCH. It's just that commuting these distances (in a car) is against everything I believe in from an energy engineering point of view.
Here's a section I've been seriously looking at in Barrhill, which we could afford to move our existing house onto. Commute no worse (in terms of time) than many have in Auckland. It could be very nice.
-
David Haywood, in reply to
How about setting up a donation thing for Haywood’s power bill? I’m in for $20.
That's a super-kind suggestion -- but no need! We have funds for that. Luckily the rest of the year has been very warm and our heating bill has been quite moderate.
But thank you so much all the same. As always on PA, I am very touched by people's kindness.
-
BenWilson, in reply to
Well, I think perhaps that post was written at a low moment, when I had lost my usual optimism.
Sick kids will do that to you. I know, cause I saw Cinderella Man the other night. Actually, I know, because it's happened to me. There's nothing that saps optimism like suffering children.
-
David Haywood, in reply to
+$ (and predicting the next post from David will be in protest)
God, I'm so predictable.
-
Lilith __, in reply to
Barrhill
Isn't Barhill the site of that Victorian-era "ideal village"? Perhaps you could start a new one?
-
David Haywood, in reply to
Well, there is always renting, I guess. Could be a good option until the earth stops shaking your assets to pieces.
Without kids that would be my preferred option.
But living in a freezing uninsulated rental (as they nearly all are), and/or moving the kids in and out of schools on the whim of landlords who suddenly decide to sell the house (as tends to happen in the few warm/insulated rentals) is a real problem. Bob and Polly only have one childhood and I want to make it a good one.
But I guess you can only do what you can do.
-
Russell Brown, in reply to
How about setting up a donation thing for Haywood’s power bill? I’m in for $20.
That’s a fine idea, and one I suspected David might baulk at. But he cannot stop you buying a book from him:
-
David Haywood, in reply to
Isn’t Barhill the site of that Victorian-era “ideal village”? Perhaps you could start a new one?
Yes, we've started this (actually on the suggestion of a PA reader)...
But run into insurmountable problems. Almost all the available land has covenants on it that prevent relocating houses -- apparently no-one wants old houses near them (and makes this a condition of allowing neighbours to subdivide their rural properties).
The only land without covenants seems to have power pylons on it (to which I have no objection but everyone else does).
-
I... feel guilty about being whiny now. But while I was reading the comments here, there was a big thump, as enough snow fell off our roof to bury our back doorstep. I was going to describe the depth in our front yard, then got distracted by wondering why snow is one of those things only ever measured in inches. Yes, my whole family's been sealed in the Warm Room of the house for two days, why do you ask?
I have learned something from all this, though: don't keep all the snow gear in the garage. The garage door tilts, and will not open with a foot of snow up against it. And where's the spade for removing the snow? Yeah...
-
Lilith __, in reply to
Isn’t Barhill the site of that Victorian-era “ideal village”? Perhaps you could start a new one?
Yes, we’ve started this (actually on the suggestion of a PA reader)…
http://rzhha.blogspot.com/A brilliant idea! Man, if Ashburton District is marketing the old Barhill village as a tourist attraction (when there’s almost nothing to see), imagine what a draw that could be! Beautiful historic homes relocated in the wake of the 2010/11 Christchurch Earthquakes? Win-win.
ETA: David, I’m seeing a potential reality tv show here. Want to be a star?
-
Anyway, in #firstworldproblems news for Auckland:
8.10am WeatherWatch.co.nz says snow and rain showers are moving towards Auckland from the west this morning.
Weather analyst Philip Duncan said it is proving tricky to predict – as forecasters have never had to predict snow for the Auckland region before and some showers are failing to make it to land from sea.
“Confidence remains high that snow will fall to low levels on the
ranges around Auckland – potentially as low as 100metres with the odd snow flake falling to sea level with heavy showers,” Mr Duncan says.“Graupel and hail showers could make driving extremely icy and hazardous – something Aucklanders don’t normally have to be concerned about, especially during daylight hours."
The precipitation forecast maps suggest it’ll kick in sometime around midday.
-
3410,
Meanwhile, workers at KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks get told "you have no job when it snows".
-
BenWilson, in reply to
I was going to describe the depth in our front yard, then got distracted by wondering why snow is one of those things only ever measured in inches.
It's not what you're thinking. In the Warm Room, inches are king, but in the snow, centimeters sound a lot better. I've only ever heard it in metric. I wonder if I just unconsciously filter out imperialist measurements.
All around the world, the kilo is the king
as I was heard from American gangsta rappers last night. It took me a while to work out why they were evangelizing the metric system, until I realized what substance they were measuring, and how much bank they had to work out in their heads, that made metrics so compelling.
Post your response…
This topic is closed.