Stating the Obvious – Weather Times Are Changing

By John Freer

Sitting watching the weather over recent days has been a challenge to those mainly living on the eastern coast of the Coromandel Peninsula.

Enduring massive rainfalls, eyes have also trawled weather sites looking for that break which could return us to what is considered – normality.

Local Civil Defence Controller, Gary Towler, who has held the position for 10 years, told us this week that what we have been experiencing, is becoming the normal – for storms that is.

The weather “it hits the wall, widens and dumps,” was his explanation in referring to the rain which comes ashore and then crashes into the Coromandel Range.

“We can handle a lot of rain because of our typography – the issue we have is if we have a big tide and saturated catchments, it is the perfect storm scenario,” said Towler.

To him there is no doubt about it as he says: “the storms are getting more frequent, and they are becoming more intense – things are changing. The outcomes are that we are getting more slips, getting flooding and getting more trees down.”

As to the Christmas holiday forecast, Towler has looked in his crystal ball and has his fingers crossed that the “not too bad forecast” arrives.

Listen to the interview attached, Gary talks about what is ahead and how we are handling the challenges thrown to us by the weather.