The "snow" spotted on the side of Waipoua Forest Rd. Photo / Stephen Wykes
The "snow" spotted on the side of Waipoua Forest Rd. Photo / Stephen Wykes
A sighting of possible snow in Northland sparked quite the flurry of excitement over the weekend.
MetService said while temperatures dipped across the region, it was not cold enough for snowfall.
Waimamaku local Stephen Wykes was heading toward Dargaville on Waipoua Forest Rd on Saturday morning when he andhis wife spotted patches of white along the road.
The pair jokingly agreed it looked as though they had been transported to the South Island.
Temperatures dipped to 3.5C overnight in Ruatangata and into the early morning on Saturday.
And on Sunday, Whangārei dipped to 5.1C, 5.9C in Kerikeri and 8.2C at Cape Rēinga.
The coldest June date on record for Kerikeri since records started in 1978 was in June 1994 when it got to -1.0C.
In Whangārei on that same day, temperatures dipped to -0.1C.
According to Northern Advocate records, history was made in 2011 when a “light dusting” of snow fell atop the Tangihua Ranges.
Old Northern Advocate reports also showed snow fell on July 27, 1939, on the Otaua Hills, about 10 miles from Kaikohe and also on the Taheke-Waimatenui Hills.
“We will see another band of showery weather coming in, and it looks like it might be quite unstable with a few thunderstorms as well.”
Showers for Northland were expected tomorrow , Wednesday and into Thursday as well.
Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.