Lake Wakatipu rose rapidly overnight after heavy rain along the Southern Alps, sparking fears of flooding in Queenstown.

[...more via stuff.co.nz]

UPDATE: Fri 1 Dec

Business owners on red alert
Queenstown business owners were put on red alert yesterday after heavy rain pushed Lake Wakatipu to its highest level since the devastating 1999 floods.

[...more via stuff.co.nz]

Emergency services has had a number of callouts in the lower North Island, due to bad weather causing roofs to blow off and trees to fall.

[...more via RadioNZ.co.nz]

Wild weather disrupts roads – and it will be cold tomorrow
Wild wind and rain which lashed the lower North Island overnight continued to cause havoc today, with slips closing several roads in the region.

[...more via NZ Herald]

The (US) Supreme Court took up its first-ever case on global warming this morning, hearing arguments from states and environmentalists seeking federal regulation of motor-vehicle emissions.

[...more via USA Today]

Weather forecasters are predicting another battering for the South Island tonight and tomorrow.

[...more via stuff.co.nz]

Weather warning as wind flips truck
Police are warning motorists to be cautious after high winds toppled a light truck in the Craigieburn area of Canterbury this afternoon.

[...more via stuff.co.nz]

All New Zealand’s agriculture is in the firing line as climate change continues – and the likelihood of increased numbers of “weather bombs” extends the risk beyond farmland, a soil conference has been told.

The Soils and Society 2006 conference was told climate change was impacting directly on the nation’s soils.

[...more via NZ Herald]

Oh how people (in particular the media) love catchy phrases! It’s worth pointing out here that a weather bomb has a technical definition and it doesn’t take a “bomb” to cause the types of flooding and erosion we’ve seen around NZ in recent years, for example in the Bay of Plenty.

The term “weather bomb” refers to a depression that deepens rapidly by at least 24hPa in 24 hours.

South Island districts heavily affected by the devastating June snowstorm will be better equipped next time after receiving compensation payouts from an electricity retailer.

[...more via NZ Herald]

An Antarctic hut used by Captain Robert Falcon Scott is being crushed under record snowdrifts, prompting a marathon digging effort by a New Zealand-led team.

[...more via stuff.co.nz]

Trees take brunt of high winds
Trees toppled by gale winds in Masterton and Carterton yesterday afternoon cut power to homes in both towns and left other trees uprooted and teetering.

[...more via Wairarapa Times-Age]

Strong winds flip horse truck in CHB
Winds were so strong in Central Hawke’s Bay that firefighters had to struggle to stay on their feet while dousing flames during the weekend.

[...more via Hawkes Bay Today]

Antarctica’s loss is officially air charter operators’ gain – but not for long.

The first major flight of iceberg seekers from Christchurch left on Saturday morning, and the combination of bergs and bubbles did not disappoint.

[...more via stuff.co.nz]

A new computer model has taken the guesswork out of climate forecasting and is confirming what scientists suspected about how global warming will affect New Zealand.

Over the next 80 years we can expect to see increases in temperature, droughts and more extreme floods.

[...more via TVNZ.co.nz]