Weather

NEWS: Pilots take runway battle to High Court

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A plane is 29 times more likely to overshoot the runway at Wellington Airport than at Auckland, the High Court in Wellington has been told. A plane lands at Wellington Airport earlier in 2015. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson The New Zealand Airline Pilots’ Association has gone to court asking for long safety margins at the end of the runway if the Wellington Airport company goes ahead with plans to extend it 300m into Cook Strait to the south so it can accommodate long haul passenger planes from Asia. The proposal still needs to be approved. The scheme will cost $300 million and there are fears adding a 240m safety margin would be uneconomic. But pilots’ counsel Hugh Rennie, QC, rejected those arguments. “The moment you start saying safety will be whatever you can justify on a cost benefit analysis, there are many, many examples,” Mr Rennie said. “You might not put signs on bridges because no one ever goes off the edge of them, you might go for cheaper buildings. The objective across the whole thing is the safety objective.” Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson No aircraft had overrun Wellington runway since the 1960s but Mr Rennie said if Read More …

Moa Point Road closed again by big waves

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Moa Point road flooding at the weekend. Twitter photo from Lyall Bay/Blaize Larsen-Beecroft Wellington.Scoop Wellington Airport warned this morning that the Moa Point road was closed again because of big swells. It had been reopened for less than 24 hours after similar problems over the weekend. Wellington.Scoop – June 15 Wellington Airport advised that the Moa Point road was still closed this morning because of large swells. The city council issued a similar warning, saying clean-up efforts as well as big waves were responsible for the continuing closure, which left only one route to the airport. The road was reopened at 4pm today after being closed since 2pm on Sunday. The NZ Herald this morning reports on the huge waves which hit Wellington’s south coast yesterday. It says part of the road at Owhiro Bay was closed by the waves. And it reports that big swells are also expected today. Ian Apperley: Council has its head in the sand about sea surges

The Council has its head is in the sand over sea surges

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All the locals new it was coming. Sunday dawned bright and early and I was writing the first blog of the week I could see the salt spray drifting across the airport. A quick check showed that a massive storm system was sending waves north, coupled with a high-tide, was always going to result in more chaos around the South Coast. And come it did. For the fifth time this year. Residents were very lucky that we didn’t get the usual wind and storm pattern that we have with a southerly, which could have pushed the surge up into people’s properties all along the coast. It amazes me that they haven’t rioted about the lack of action, or rather, lack of result that the Council has made with coastal defences. A lot of new seawalls have gone in, however, they are being smashed at a rate of knots already and even the most recent walls are failing in high surge conditions. Island Bay remains broken after the last major storm, walls all around Eastern Suburbs have failed, been replaced, have failed, and have been replaced. Owhiro Bay has been smashed. Lyall Bay is consistently smashed. It is getting worse. My Read More …

Radio NZ: Waves close road and partially flood tunnel

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Large swells, coinciding with a high tide, have washed rocks and debris onto the road on Wellington’s South Coast. The city council was warning people to stay away from the area this afternoon. Photo: Scott George The Wellington City Council said some of the waves had crossed the road and entered properties. MetService forecaster Nick Zachar said the four metre waves were being generated by a low pressure system to the South East of the country. “We do have southerly swells of three and a half metres in Cook Strait and maximum wave height of about five metres or so, so it is a downward trend from about now.” The tides washed up rocks near Wellington Airport. Photo: Wellington City Council The road between the eastern end of Lyall Bay to Moa Point Road is closed and the airport tunnel is partially flooded. Front of house staff member at Maranui Cafe in Lyall Bay, Anna Brimer, said the waves had washed over the roads. She said although the sea hit the building the cafe is in there had not been any damage. The waves closed the road between the eastern end of Lyall Bay to Moa Point Road. Photo: Stephen Read More …

The Dominion Post: Large waves cancel ferry, break Wellington Airport buoy loose, soak onlookers

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For a great video, go to the original link. Large swells creating massive waves in Lyall Bay Wellington caught one couple out. Heavy swells and big waves have battered Wellington’s south coast, causing ferry cancellations, washing rocks on to a car park and soaking anyone who ventured too close to the surf. The rough conditions in Cook Strait forced the cancellation of Tuesday’s 2.45pm sailing of Interislander ferry Aratere from Wellington to Picton. Passengers and their vehicles were transferred to later sailings. An hour before the Aratere was due to depart, the Kaitaki set sail from Picton, with passengers warned to hold on for bumpy ride. Heavy swells in Cook Strait have forced the cancellation of some sailing of the Interislander ferries. People with young children were told to hang on to them and keep them close, passenger Patsy Sziranyi said on arrival in Wellington on Tuesday night. Experienced sailor Christine Rentoul said there were a “few decent” waves and the boat was moving around a bit. “I loved it, but there were a few people looking a bit green.” The big swells are forecast to continue on the eastern side of Cook Strait for the next few days, and Read More …