NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • Generate wealth weekly
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Cyclone Lusi the old wind bag

NZME. regionals
24 Apr, 2014 06:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
This map shows the track of Lusi until it moved away to the southeast of the country. The green dots show the position of the system once it had weakened to be an extra-tropical cyclone. Times are given in UTC, add 13 hours for New Zealand local time.

This map shows the track of Lusi until it moved away to the southeast of the country. The green dots show the position of the system once it had weakened to be an extra-tropical cyclone. Times are given in UTC, add 13 hours for New Zealand local time.

Tropical Cyclone Lusi began its life over Vanuatu in early March, as the system tracked between Fiji and New Caledonia it intensified, reaching a category 3 status (scale of 1-5) for a time with sustained winds around 150 km/h close to the centre of the storm. Lusi, like other cyclones, formed as a result of the warm "bath-like" waters in the tropics and light winds aloft to allow them to develop.

As Lusi travelled south she encountered cooler waters and the increased shear, which helped to weaken her as she moved towards New Zealand.

Although a weaker feature than she had been in the tropics, Cyclone Lusi steamed her way into the northern parts of New Zealand during the early hours of Saturday, March 15. She brought wind gusts in excess of 130km/h in the far north at Cape Reinga and at other exposed locations. The rainfall distribution associated with Lusi was rather a patchy affair, with locations exposed to the prevailing northeast wind flow receiving the most whereas other locations with more lee shelter receiving significantly less. The ranges of the Tasman region recorded some of the highest rainfall, more than 200mm in 24 hours in some spots.

Some of the already dry pastures from Waikato to Taihape did not receive much precipitation at all, with 4.5mm at Hamilton, Paeroa to the north reported 133mm over the same period. New Plymouth recorded 2.8mm, while Mount Taranaki managed over 150mm during the same time.

Cyclone Lusi brought a prevailing wind flow that spread across the country mainly from the northeast, given the fact that winds flow clockwise around lows in the southern hemisphere. A strong northeast flow of wind and rain spread in across the north of the North Island as Lusi approached the country. This strong northeast wind flow had the most impact on locations exposed to that direction (i.e. eastern coastal locations of Northland, North Auckland and Coromandel).

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

There were reports in these locations of downed trees and power outages. In contrast, other areas to the west not exposed to that wind direction generally did not feel the wrath of the strong winds and rain as badly as locations along the coast. The hills and topography across many parts of New Zealand can also have a dramatic effect on how far inland rain and wind spreads.

Tropical cyclones also can be rather erratic in the way they move, a bit like bulls in a china shop. They are steered by upper-level winds in the atmosphere but given their difference in behaviour to mid-latitude weather systems, their exact tracks can be difficult to exactly pin down more than a couple of days in advance. This can make forecasting more challenging because there still are severe elements in the storms but perhaps not for all of the country. Hence the phrase, "keep up to date with the latest forecasts from us when storms are approaching".

What is to come?The neutral state in the ENSO (El Nino-Southern Oscillation) has kept much of the Pacific, including New Zealand, riding the fence with no general steer from the tropical Pacific for the shape and frequency of the weather patterns over the last year or so. In the coming months all eyes will be on the first signs of warming in the sub-surface equatorial Pacific to see if that holds the key to a developing El Nino.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The rest of the autumn will be more of the same variability where we again look to the local factors and the seasonal changes for hints to our longer-range weather patterns. We can expect the typical seasonal shift north of the anticyclones, along with a return of the Tasman Sea weather systems which in time will begin to have more meat on the bone in terms of rainfall as they pass across northern areas. The southerly changes behind the systems will also become more noticeable as we head towards winter.

Discover more

Opinion

Chris de Freitas: Let's prepare for weather's worst

28 Apr 05:00 PM
Save
    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Person found seriously injured near Queenstown, police responding

14 Sep 08:09 AM
New Zealand

Indian national with NZ-born child to be deported for indecent assault of woman

14 Sep 08:00 AM
New Zealand

'Prepare to be without power overnight': High winds affect thousands across North Island

14 Sep 07:14 AM

Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Person found seriously injured near Queenstown, police responding
New Zealand

Person found seriously injured near Queenstown, police responding

Emergency crews were called to the scene just after 6.15pm this evening.

14 Sep 08:09 AM
Indian national with NZ-born child to be deported for indecent assault of woman
New Zealand

Indian national with NZ-born child to be deported for indecent assault of woman

14 Sep 08:00 AM
'Prepare to be without power overnight': High winds affect thousands across North Island
New Zealand

'Prepare to be without power overnight': High winds affect thousands across North Island

14 Sep 07:14 AM


Kiwi campaign keeps on giving
Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP