A once-in-a-life-time phenomenon today in Auckland is a four-letter word...

Peter Wu

16 August 2011

Snow…fell in Auckland for the first time in 72 years. Not much at all, nowhere near enough to put a dusting on any surface, but enough to cause huge excitement in different parts of Auckland. There were debates as to what actually fell – hail, snow, rain, sleet or combinations thereof, until the Met Office confirmed it was snow.

In Wellington, the snow-fall is far heavier and it is mighty cold because of the wind. Even the usual ‘hot air’ generated from Parliament’s debating chamber is not enough to melt the snow at Parliament grounds!

The lower half of the South Island has come to a stand-still because it is blanked by heavy snow-falls. We as a country is not used to or equipped to deal with heavy snow-fall.

Well, the weather has notched up another first in Kiwiland. I wonder what may come next. A volcanic eruption? Who knows?