Snow fell in New Zealand’s capital for the first time in 15 years due to an Antarctic front
Kyiv • UNN
Snow fell in Wellington for the first time in 15 years due to a powerful Antarctic cold front. Residents of Dunedin skied through the streets, while the country recorded record electricity consumption.
New Zealand’s capital, Wellington, saw snow for the first time in 15 years due to a powerful Antarctic cold front. Meanwhile, in the southern city of Dunedin, residents took advantage of the unusual weather to ski through the streets. The Guardian reports, writes UNN.
Details
The cold front arrived on Tuesday, and much of the country woke up to frost, icy conditions, snowfall, hail and biting cold winds.
The cold persisted on Wednesday morning, with temperatures falling to -9 °C in three areas of the South Island. Some highways were closed, while parts of the North Island’s east coast woke up after heavy hailstorms.
In Wellington, it snowed even at sea level on Tuesday afternoon — for the first time in 15 years. Office workers ran outside to see the rare snowfall, while residents actively shared videos of the wintry scenes on social media.
"It was a winter wonderland," one social media user wrote.
"Snow in Wellington?! Incredible! This is how you can make a day better," another wrote.
"It’s very touching to see how excited everyone is about this. I went over to the window in the office, and in every window of the building opposite there were also people watching it," a Reddit user wrote.
In Dunedin, the second-largest city on the South Island, students were sent home on Tuesday after the city was covered in snow. Many residents took the opportunity to enjoy the unusual weather.
Videos published by local media showed residents snowboarding through the city streets. One daring skier went down Baldwin Street, which the Guinness World Records recognizes as the steepest street in the world.
Farther north, New Brighton beach in Christchurch was covered with a thin layer of snow, while a plane was forced to abort its landing at Christchurch International Airport because of strong winds and rain.
Police responded to numerous incidents in which cars were swept off icy roads and urged people to avoid traveling.
Temperatures were forecast to rise on Wednesday but then fall sharply again overnight. According to New Zealand’s MetService, Thursday is likely to bring the coldest morning of the year in some parts of the country.
Meanwhile, national electricity grid operator Transpower reported that the highest-ever peak-period electricity consumption was recorded on Wednesday morning and warned of a possible energy shortage on Friday morning.