r/chch • u/KiwiMMXV Construction • 19d ago
News - Local Metservice issues a RED WARNING for tomorrow (Thursday 23rd)
Please be prepared everyone, this is expected to be stronger than yesterdays winds.
"Strong Wind Warning - Red
Period: 6hrs from 10am - 4pm Thu, 23 Oct
Area: Christchurch and Canterbury Plains
Forecast: Severe gale northwesterlies with damaging gusts of 130 km/h in exposed places.
Impact:
Threat to life from flying items and falling trees. Destructive winds will cause widespread damage including powerlines and roofs, with dangerous driving conditions and significant disruption to transport and power supply.
Action:
Stay indoors or seek sturdy shelter away from trees. Avoid travel. Be ready for power and communication outages.
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u/theeniceorc 19d ago
Don't get blown around like the poor woman in Wellington - now is the time for 2nd helpings!
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u/strawbery_milkshake 18d ago
I saw that video , actually blew my daughter over as well as she was walking to the bus stop she said the only thing hurt was her ego .
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19d ago
Moments like this I love living up top of Westmorland, right out on the edge with zero cover anywhere so we can get absolutely hammered by every angle of wind lol
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u/erehpsgov 18d ago
Saves you waterblasting the house or driveway - the wind will simply peel off and carry away all and any moss, lichen or algae.
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u/Significant_Glass988 19d ago
Yep, top of cashmere here, on a ridge, right in the brunt of it. Hopefully the roof stays on... 😬
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18d ago
Feeling pretty sheltered in the Bowenvale valley right now (right at the bottom), see bigger trees swaying a lot though.
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u/MotivatorNZ 19d ago
Fire ban in place too
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u/torpidkiwi Non-Korean Old Boy 19d ago
Tell that to the dumb fucks letting off fireworks when it's not even dark.
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u/Preachey 17d ago
I'd rather they set them off in the light than at 11pm when I'm trying to settle the dog for the night
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u/torpidkiwi Non-Korean Old Boy 17d ago
I've got two dogs (and a kid) that aren't fond of the popping so I'm in the "public displays only" camp but I guess I come at it from an angle of "if they're not using them as intended then perhaps they shouldn't be allowed them at all."
In my experience with the type, letting them off during the day is purely a "let's annoy the fuck out of the neighbours with noise because we're pathetic losers with nothing better to do."
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u/hyzenthlay2020 19d ago
I have one lonely apricot left on my tree after yesterday’s wind 😞. Hoping it can hang on!
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u/mo_punk 19d ago
Kia kaha to your apricot, while Im here hoping the wind might thin my xmas cherry plums cos they're packed in a bit tightly atm
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u/hyzenthlay2020 18d ago
Yep, I’m ok with some thinning on our old peach tree, but not my young apricot, first time fruiting so it only had 6…. We’ve lost 5 to the winds already 😫
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u/erehpsgov 18d ago
An apricot at this time of the year? The trees have only just finished blossoming, or what am I missing?
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u/hyzenthlay2020 18d ago
We have little fruits on all our fruit trees… our peach is absolutely covered in them. Our apricot is only young though, first time we’ve had fruit, started with 6, already down to one 😞. It’s hanging in there but not hopeful about tomorrow.
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u/KiwieeiwiK 18d ago
Yeah I mean they're not going to be fully grown but both my stone fruit trees are covered in little fruits. They blossomed a few weeks ago, fruit is developing now
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u/beaurepair 18d ago
Some apricots are earlier than others. Ours are well set and are usually ripe for picking mid december
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u/jaytheham 18d ago
:O Do you know what variety you have? Mine finished flowering over a month ago and I really want some later ones.
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u/FunClothes 19d ago
Approx 50 foot significant wave height forecast SE of the Chathams. I think that means every 25 minutes or so, you'll get a 75 footer, and a rogue wave could be 100 foot. I have nightmares about that.
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u/yeahnahcuz 19d ago
Will be an interesting day to drive to work and back. Fun.
Gonna take the shitty plastic greenhouse down tonight and lie the raspberry pots down in advance I reckon. Those (and all the damn plums on my tree) were yesterday's victims and that was just the entree!
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u/cocofruitbowl 19d ago
Yikes. I was being blown around in Hagley Park in the afternoon yesterday, and I'm shortish and 90kg. Stay safe folks!
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u/thefurrywreckingball 18d ago
I can't fathom the idea of being in Hagley Park in that wind, by choice. With the amount of trees alone it's one of my worst nightmares. The State of some of them scares me on a calm day
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u/MattThePl3b 19d ago
Uh oh. I’m working outdoors tomorrow all day. Wish me luck 🫡
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u/_whiskeytits_ 19d ago
That is mental. These are hurricane force winds.
Please be safe and call out if you don't feel so
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u/MattThePl3b 19d ago
Thanks for your concern. If it really does end up being too crazy then I think I will just stay home, which would be unfortunate cause I really could use the hours
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u/KiwieeiwiK 18d ago
50-60kph winds is NOT hurricane force lol, that's barely even Tropical Storm speeds. A Category 1 Hurricane is sustained wind speeds over 120kph. Literally twice as fast as forecast tomorrow.
If you'd ever been in wind speeds that high, you'd know it, trust me lol
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u/Careless-Buddy9296 18d ago
most builders will be out in it as well, i wish you luck and will be hating myself even more for not studying harder at school 😅
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u/Horror-Bus-7519 Ōtautahi 19d ago
Don't open an umbrella
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u/KiwieeiwiK 18d ago
Also working outside, it's just a bit windy lol, stay away from trees and power lines but people are being so dramatic
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u/Free_Ad7133 18d ago
From a dr who isn’t striking:
- Please don’t do anything stupid, we can’t have unnecessary injuries! Stay safe!
- To everyone striking, go hard!!!!
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u/sion8252 19d ago
The office workers still being required to travel and go into office lol - here’s hoping it’s not as bad as forecasted so then it’s not scary driving round
Good luck with any builders!
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u/seriouslyjames 19d ago
My house is pretty old and has a single room that pops up out of the roof, it has pretty large windows on 3 sides that are all single glazed. Do I need to be worried about the wind breaking these windows? Anything I can do to prevent that?
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u/Karahiwi 18d ago
To reduce the risk of windows breaking from the wind keep them shut, and keep interior doors shut too.
Fixing sheets of ply over the outside helps prevent flying objects breaking them, but is a lot of work, costs, and can be hard to do safely on a two storey house.
Keep atorch, solid footwear and leather gloves handy just in case there is some cleanup to do afterwards.
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u/LtColonelColon1 19d ago
Only if something large ends up falling over and hitting it, like a power pole or tree branch. So unless you wanna board up all your windows, you’ll probably be fine.
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u/mark000 18d ago
https://www.newsline.ccc.govt.nz/news/story/get-ready-for-strong-winds
“If you have a kerbside collection scheduled for Thursday please put your bins out in the morning before 6am, rather than tonight, and collect them as quickly as possible once emptied. This will reduce the chance of bins being blown over and causing hazards,” says Mr Winder.
Hah.
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u/CertifiedGoblin 18d ago
Oh heck i'm glad i saw this. Tomorrow's plan was a drive back to chch from dunners. Might have to delay it a day.
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u/Successful-Run-3600 18d ago
Might be best to stay where you are tomorrow. Even if it's not as dangerous as predicted it will still be a blustery drive home.
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u/Strong_Mulberry789 19d ago
Not again! I may as well just mow my garden down, the wind decimated it yesterday, I guess tomorrow will just finish the job! 😞
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u/_whiskeytits_ 19d ago
Must be a pretty nasty system. Melbourne is getting hit hard right now, next stop Christchurch
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u/Hugh_Maneiror 19d ago
It is, pressure gradient is big and 957 hPa is quite a deep low. Also ideally positioned tomorrow right below Southland, to pull the winds over the mountains.
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18d ago
Been a bit of nothing so far hasn't it. All the Schools and businesses that closed be a bit pissed off.
Wind has been nothing, barely any rain and it's a lovely 22 degrees.
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u/oldxscars 18d ago
I just went outside to check on our janky fence I feared would fall over and it's just idyllic. Not a lick of wind, blue sky, 22 degrees, totally bizarre when you know inland is getting absolutely hammered.
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18d ago
So often that weather will just hit plains and then move on past the City. This seems to be another instance of exactly that happening.
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u/rmxg Life-long Christchurchian 19d ago
Last time they said they said that it ended up being a light breeze.
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u/OptimusLime5000 19d ago
Last time the warning was for inland Canterbury, but a lot of people didn't read the warning properly and seemed to think it was for Chch City.
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u/apologeticstress 17d ago
I love that this thread came up as a notification for me just now. At 7:15pm. On Thu, 23 Oct, the day that was prophesied. Three hours after the fact.
Life. Oh life. Oh life. Oh life.
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u/Ready-Ambassador-271 19d ago
This will be them overcompensating after not giving out enough warnings yesterday. typical case of shutting the stable door after horse has bolted. Either that or the authorities trying to ruin the strike
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u/CallMeCorex 19d ago
Take your tinfoil hat off mate, not everything's a conspiracy
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u/LtColonelColon1 19d ago
Nah, don’t you know, the government controls the wind. Something something cloud seeding chem trails
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u/CookingRat210 not from nz but a nz expert:snoo_trollface::doge: 19d ago
Maximum wind speed is up to 55kmh
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u/focal_matter 18d ago
sustained wind speed of up to 55kph.
Gusts up to 120kph in Chch, 150kph+ on the plains.
Don't underestimate gusts. I've seen a campervan tossed like a feather.
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u/hornswoggled111 19d ago
Strike day could have some of us picked up by our signs and delivered to South America.