– Record Snowfall in Many Parts of New Zealand (Ice Age Now, May 29, 2015):
A massive storm far off the coast of New Zealand has left behind bitter cold weather in the country.
On Tuesday morning, Blenheim in Marlborough dropped to -5.1 degrees and central Wellington to -1.7 degrees, according to MetService meteorologist Nick Zachar. The cold air dumped snow in several places including the hills around Wellington and reached as far North as Hawke’s Bay.
Rare snowfall was recorded in Napier, reports TVNZ. Central Otago’s Arrowtown also experienced its heaviest snowfall in 30 years while Dunedin was blanketed in white.
“The depth of this storm south of New Zealand is up there with some of the biggest hurricanes we’ve seen. It’s a really big storm,” said weather expert Philip Duncan.
The snow closed sections of state highways and some smaller local roads. The storm absorbed the air straight from the Antarctic ice into New Zealand.