Large rain cell delivers heavy, short burst of rain

File picture

Many local residents will have been surprised by the sudden intensity of last night's brief downpour.

Measurements from rain gauges in the city and out to Te Karaka confirm the intensity.

The MetService gauge at the airport recorded just under 10mm in total for the three hours from 7pm to 10pm, but it was the one hour from 9pm to 10pm that saw gutters and drains filled to overflowing.

In that one hour, the airport gauge recorded 6.6mm, while gauges including Stout Street and Te Karaka all saw one hour totals of just over 6mm.

The heavy but short burst of rain was delivered by a large rain cell that swept in from the north, but fortunately passed over the district very quickly.

In other weather news, if Wednesday felt like one of the coldest days this winter, MetService's airport instruments confirmed it.

The air temperature rose from a cool 2.2 degrees in the early morning, to a “high” of just 11.9 degrees.

Yesterday was even colder, with a low of 1.8 degrees recorded between 7am and 8am and a high of just 11.1 degrees recorded at 3pm.

The coldest morning this year was on July 6, with minus half a degree, while the lowest maximum was 10.6 degrees on July 11. — RH