the big dry

rodders · Valued Member Joined: 25 Nov 2003 Posts: 134

can anyone say how bad this drought is/feels? thanks.

Showers tipped - not enough to break Canty drought

A cool southerly change this week is expected to bring Canterbury its highest rainfall since November – but it will not be a drought-breaker.

Blue Skies Weather and Climate Services has forecast southerly winds and showers starting today and continuing to the end of the week.

Forecaster Angeline Frayle said while showers were not expected to be prolonged, 10mm to 15mm of rain was expected to fall, more than the total recorded for all of December.

North Canterbury last month received 10mm, with Amberley and Rangiora recording 5mm and 5.4mm respectively, the latter being the lowest December rainfall since readings began in 1918.

Farmers and fire officers welcomed the cooler temperatures but were under no illusion that the drought, predicted by some to be the worst in memory, was over.

Fire officers and council water staff were also warning people not to become complacent about the fire risk and water restrictions, saying the situation was still extreme.

North Canterbury Federated Farmers president Pam Richardson said it was "wishful thinking" to say the weekend drizzle made a difference to dry Banks Peninsula farms.

The cooler weather was buoying spirits, but it would take more than the forecasted 10 to 15mm to alleviate the dryness.

"There's nothing recorded in the rain gauge but it's a very pleasant cool day. We would need a whole lot more than that but every little drop counts," she said.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2786714a11,00.html

JCM · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 4:24 pm Post subject:

Funnily enough, the weather has been cool for the last couple of days with a bit of rain blowing through the wind - not enough to wet the ground much though.

Everything that isn't irrigated is brown. There are no restrictions on hosing your garden though, so there are lots of sprinklers going every day keeping people's lawns green.

Actually, droughts are quite common in Canterbury - usually you'll see non-irrigated grass turn brown in summer. This is the first really dry spell for 3 or 4 years though - it's quite bad news for the NZ economy which is more dependent on agricultural exports than other western economies are.

When the NZ dollar was in really dire straits a few years back (1 British Pound = NZ$3.70 and US$1 = NZ$2) was after about three years of very low rainfall and low agricultural prices in NZ.

rodders · Valued Member Joined: 25 Nov 2003 Posts: 134

that exchange rate i could live with. fingers crossed

keep that drought going. mind you, i suppose an economy going downhill would also mean no jobs. on second thoughts, c'mon rain. cool

JCM · Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2004 1:21 pm Post subject:

Your prayers have been answered Rodders - we've had over a week of so-so weather with a bit of rain and it's been chucking it down today. Drought over. fingers crossed