Met Service boss warns of worse weather to come

Met Service head John Lumsden is warning of more punishing weather on our long-term horizon in the wake of record Wairarapa rainfall last month.
Mr Lumsden was guest speaker yesterday at the National Bank business breakfast held at the Copthorne Resort Solway Park Hotel.
He told the meeting that Wairarapa had posted the highest level of rainfall last month since records began, and that similar extreme weather events "will keep on happening, as they have in the past".
Mr Lumsden cited gales recorded in Greytown in the 1930s that were so powerful the hands were stalled on the then Greytown clock, which lost 15 minutes in one hour as "they were blown stationary".
In the same year, he said, a newspaper reported that strong winds had torn building material from Carterton homes and "wrapped sheets of corrugated iron round trees like cloth".
"There are many instances of severe weather in Wairarapa and climate change is occurring whether our influence is significant or not.
"But be very aware there will be more and more extreme weather events in our lifetimes, and also be aware that government policy that may contribute to any climate change may easily be just as momentous."
He said the Met Service ? which exports global weather system graphics to international clients that include Channel 9 in Australia and the BBC ? do not expect any real influence in New Zealand from El Nino or La Nina weather systems and are predicting neutral weather patterns in the foreseeable future.
The organisation is now seeking an agreement with the Ministry of Transport, Mr Lumsden said, to build additional Doppler radars to further enhance the accuracy of Metservice products and predictions.
Mr Lumsden is to retire from his post in November and said he began as chief executive with the Met Service 14 years ago when the organisation first moved into the marketplace as a state-owned-enterprise.
Met Service is based in Wellington and has 193 employees, he said, and in the last financial year reported a tax paid profit of just over $4 million, on sales of almost $31 million.
The record result was boosted by the sales of its weather graphics software Weatherscape XT to the BBC, he said.
Met Service weather forecast services are widely known in New Zealand and are available in all media as well as at www.metservice.com, he said, which rates as the most popular online weather page in the country.
Less well known is the Met Service television programme and sharemarket information service that is produced for newspapers under the Metra brand.
Mr Lumsden ? vice president of the Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce ? is to strike out after retiring into business consultancy, he said, as Growlypaw Limited.
Mr Lumsden said he enjoys his connection to Wairarapa ? a bottle of pinot noir ? a couple of times a week.
He holds shares in Te Kairanga Wines, a top Martinborough winery, and said the renowned Wairarapa wine "is best served on a cold winter night with a fire roaring, and some lamb".