NEW ZEALAND - Last week, New Zealand was hit with one of its most powerful out-of-season tropical storms ever. Dubbed Tropical Cyclone Donna, the storm brought extreme amounts of rainfall to the region know for producing some of the country’s most highly exported apples.
Stephen Meke, Senior Forecaster at the Fiji Meteorological Service told Reuters it was "very unusual" to see such a powerful storm well after the summer months have passed. Cycolone season Pacific cyclone officially ended on April 30, so this type of weather anomaly popping up in mid-May has had some forecasters scratching their heads.
According to data from NASA, parts of New Zealand’s North Island reached rainfall totals of around 250 millimeters (around 10 inches). The country’s MetService had issued severe weather warnings for large portions of the lower and central North Island, predicting a range of 150 millimeters to 200 millimeters (around 6 to 8 inches). Lower parts of the North Island and upper parts of the lower island also received rain to a lesser extent. However, most of the wettest weather in New Zealand wrapped up late Thursday, the weather experts reported.
According to The New Zealand Herald, much of the North Island experienced travel and transportation delays, shut down roads, overturned vehicles, and halted trains.
The past month or so has been a particularly wet one for New Zealand, which was hit by flooding, landslides, and power outages. Donna was the third late-season cyclone to sweep through the region, following storms Debbie and Cook, both of which heavily hit Australia and New Zealand.
May is a month where several of New Zealand’s apple varieties are in season. While much of the country’s crop in grown further south, the North Island does house a few growing regions. There is currently no word on weather or not the crop or harvest has been affected by the storm, but AndNowUKnow will continue to follow any updates.
