The Country 21/01/26: Chris Brandolino talks to Jamie Mackay

Friday’s Weather Guy on a very wet Wednesday as red rain warnings are issued.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
But stride into it. From Earth Sciences, New Zealand. Chris
Brendolino getting some horrendous rainfall numbers, especially in Northland and Coromandel.
Give me the numbers.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Yeah, Look, places like Fidianga have received since nine am yesterday.
So this is what twenty seven hours of rainfall over
two hundred millimeters of rain in city Younga, So two
hundred and ten I believe, if I got my math right,
Cathedral Cove just to the east one hundred and eighty

(00:31):
one hundred and ninety millimeters of rain. So the Corimandal
is getting absolutely land basted with heavy rainfall and the
worst is yet to come. Unfortunately. Places in the Northland
region have experienced, oh gosh, over the past twenty four
hours anywhere from fifty to one hundred millimeters of rain.
But you were saying earlier, Jam you had a listener

(00:52):
chime in with some pretty incredible amounts north of Funk today. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
Well, Jeff Crawford, who were going to speak to in
the Hikarngi Swamp which is just north of fung al right,
he sent me away picture Raine gage one hundred and
sixty mills in two hours and he said in total
in the last five hours two hundred and sixty six mills.
That is Biblical build an act sort of numbers.

Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yeah, and look, the reason for this is we have
a tropical moisture streaming south and southeast and that is
the fuel for this heavy rain. Look, the worst of it,
as I say, is yet to come. So here's what
we're expecting. The rain will probably be at its heaviest.
We're going to talk in somewhat broad strokes here to
give people idea of what's going to happen. So it's

(01:35):
roughly midday now, so the heaviest rain over the next
six hours likely to be over far eastern and northeastern
Northland as well as the Cormando. But I think the
Cormandal probably gets the absolute heaviest rain, probably from about
dinnertime through I would say roughly two three o'clock in
the morning. And also we can't exclude eastern portions of

(01:57):
the Auckland area. The Bay of Plenty there under a
red warning. So our friends at met Service have a
slew of warnings, multiple red warnings, including from Tadafithy Gisbon
north from Tullga Bay northbound into the Bay of plenty
into the Coremandle into North lind and all those areas
are gonna see very heavy rainfall where Taarafadi gisben being

(02:20):
last to see the heaviest rain, but also last to
see the rain to end. In Some areas have already
seen as I just mentioned, well over two hundred millimeters
of rain, and by the time all of a sudden done, Jamie,
we're gonna see some areas in excess of three even
four hundred millimeters of rain, potentially certainly upwards of three
to four hundred millimeters. Not everywhere, but in those areas

(02:40):
that get the highest amount. We gotta watch high tide.
So anyone near say an estuary or near the sea
with those easterly winds, especially east facing areas, there's going
to be this push of water because of the easterly wind.
And you combine that when there's a high tide, water
trying to go into the sea leading the land. That
can cause the problems. So we're gonna watch the high
tide tonight and tomorrow morning. And we can't forget areas

(03:04):
to the south like a Nelson over toward tas been
over toward Westport. There's a fair bit of heavy rain
that will fall there, not quite as heavy, so that's
happening as well. And on top of that, it's the wind.
Some strong wind will be around and that will because
of the unusual wind direction Jamie, easterly winds a bit unusual,
the persistent gustiness lasting a long time, and the heavy

(03:27):
rain that will increase the odds for tree damage and
causing power outages and things of that nature. We'll catch
a break, Jamie, but unfortunately, it'll feel like autumn this weekend,
long weekend for some, with showers, maybe some squally type
showers and thunderstorms, with cooler than average temperatures and some
pretty strong gusty winds. So we'll get through this. It's

(03:47):
gonna be tough. We'll catch a breath and kind of
just kicking the gusts this weekend with his showers and
squally showers and chili temperatures.

Speaker 1 (03:55):
Hey really quickly to finish. Sean's got so much to
cover on today's show. Please tell me. I don't want
to drag up ghosts from the past, but these numbers
are not going to be as bad as Gabrielle.

Speaker 2 (04:08):
I don't think so. I mean, got a remember with Gabrielle.
You know, we're talking four to five hundred millimeters of
rain that fell and roughly a couple of days, so
I don't see amounts of that a much. Plus that
rain fell on really saturated soils, so we had that
going on. It was a wet period. If you go
back to you know, twenty twenty three and early twenty
twenty three, we do have to watch Northland and the

(04:30):
Coramandal all areas, but the Northland and Corimandal regions that
had some heavy rain on Sunday and that kind of
sets them up for elevated impacts from this heavy rain event.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
Full Warned is forearmed. Chris Brandolino eth Sciences, New Zealand,
thanks for your time, as always, appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (04:46):
Mate. All right, stay safe everyone,