A flooded paddock on Colombo Rd on Tuesday. PHOTO/ELISA VORSTER
ELISA VORSTER
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Mother Nature has been having its own spring clean this week, with a MetService spokesperson labelling it “a pretty wet start to the week”.
The region is directly in the firing line of heavy bands of rain, and the effects are being felt.
Greytown Fire Service was called to a property in Morison’s Bush to assist with flooding yesterday.
There were road closures at White Rock Rd and Ponatahi Rd, at the Huangarua Bridge in Martinborough.
Castlepoint residents may have noticed a change in breeze as they battled gusts of up to 105kmh, although this was nothing compared with the 141kmh gusts they received in August – the highest registered in the country for the month.
While the capital battled gusts of up to 120kmh, Masterton escaped with an average wind speed of 40kmh gusting to 60kmh.
A heavy rain warning was in place for the region until 6pm Tuesday night, with up to 60mm of rain predicted.
By mid-afternoon on Tuesday, 24-hour rainfall measurements were around 18.4mm in Martinborough, 17mm in Masterton, and 36mm in Castlepoint, with some parts of the Tararua Ranges receiving up to 46mm.
The strong, cold, southeasterly winds experienced so far this week are predicted to continue for a couple of days, with a noticeable change not expected until the weekend.
