Winter chill fuels buying spree

The icy cold blast that whipped the Bay sparked a shopping surge by locals stocking up on winter essentials.
The thermometer in Tauranga plummeted to a chilly 4C on Monday morning - 6C below the minimum average temperature for April and the month's coldest day.
At Briscoes Homeware, customers stocked up on electric blankets, winter duvets and heaters.
Extra staff have been brought in to replenish stock as winter essentials flew out the door over the long weekend.
Assistant manager Judy Webb described the winter shopping rush as absolutely crazy.
"There were 200 people lined up waiting to get in (when the store opened on Monday afternoon) - all of them cold and wanting heating."
Chimney sweep business owner Wendy McLeod of Te Puke was inundated with more than 50 calls yesterday.
"Every time I put down the phone it rings again," said Mrs McLeod.
Some Tauranga customers would have to wait up to four weeks for their chimneys to be cleared as a result.
Gary Keleher, owner of Blazing Firewood in Greerton, has also noticed a marked increase in business recently.
He said most of his chimney sweep business was conducted over summer but there were still some orders for chimney clearing.
In the past few weeks he has been busy delivering loads of firewood.
But the cold snap was good news for kiwifruit growers in the midst of the picking season.
Orchardists were relieved when the cool weather kicked in as it helps the fruit mature.
"It speeds up the conversion of starches to sugars and lifts the fruit up to ripeness ready to harvest," said Peter Wells of Seeka Kiwifruit Industries.
Growers are hoping the cool weather will remain to ensure the fruit ripens to the required level for picking. Currently, due to milder than average temperatures during April, kiwifruit has been slower to ripen than in previous years.
The cold snap has now passed with yesterday hitting a high of 15C.
Forecasters say temperatures should increase to around 19.9C, which was more typical for this time of year.
"It's cooler than normal at present but I don't think it will remain cooler than normal through May," said MetService weather ambassador Bob McDavitt.
"We're not suddenly jumping into winter just because we've had a week of southerlies."
Mr McDavitt predicted the coldest months this year would be July and August when sea temperatures cool.
Climate scientist at NIWA, Stuart Burgess, said: "This is the time of year you do get cold southerlies from time to time and the temperatures start to cool."