Autumn bites as chill sets in

WRAPPED UP: Owhata School pupils (from top) Moana Pakuru, 10, Cadence Morrell, 10, and Kaylee Davies, 10 wrap up warm. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER

There has been a noticeable chill in the air this week and the bad news is it is only going to get worse.

Mornings have been getting colder with the temperature in Rotorua dropping to below 7C.

MetService forecaster Georgina Griffiths saidconditions had been noticeably cooler over the last few days. One day the temperature fell to 6.9C and that was just an indicator of what was to come.

"The average minimums lately have been around 10 to 15 degrees so it's been a bit of a shock over the last few mornings. Most of New Zealand has been running quite high for this time of year.

She said Rotorua's minimum temperatures would bounce back for the weekend but next week looked stormy and unsettled.

"People are going to have to look at the forecast and keep their rain coats close by."

Owhata School principal Bob Stiles said students and teachers were still in their summer gear and the sudden temperature drop had not affected them too much.

"All the parents are prepared for winter, their kids are sorted with uniforms and we have water proof jackets for all the students as well as shoes and socks for those who need them."

Farm Source Rotorua manager Shaun Hughes said the store gave its old pallets away for firewood because it was a way of getting rid of waste and helping the community at the same time.

"Coming into winter firewood is a bit expensive. So it's nice to be able to give people who need it a bit of help and apart from the few nails here and there the pallets make good firewood."

Rotorua resident Greg Buckingham shared his tips for a cheaper warmer winter.

He and his family liked to drive around the industrial areas and grab the free pallets left out by the big companies to use for fire wood.

"Now and then we will go and buy a bag of firewood, but most of the time we go hunting for free pallets. We just chuck them in the back of our ute, it's free and it keeps you warm."

They also liked to take walks into the dog area in the Redwoods to pick up the little pine cones. "We make it a morning walk and with the dogs and pick up the pine cones on the way, they are really good little fire starters."