New Zealand's deadly deluge - Sol-Up Solar
An unprecedented deluge hit northern New Zealand late last week, with heavy rains continuing through midweek. Flooding shut down Auckland on Friday as an entire summer’s worth of rain fell in a single day, Andrew writes.

The big picture: The deluge killed at least 4 people, and may serve as a wake-up call to step up preparations for climate change-related extreme weather events.

  • Auckland joins the list of other cities hit hard by record downpours recently, including Seoul, Korea.

Context: The heavy rains and resulting flooding are tied to multiple climate and extreme weather factors.

  • These include a La Niña event in the tropical Pacific Ocean, which combined with global warming-related trends is yielding a marine heat wave in the South Pacific.
  • Ocean temperatures are running about 5.4°F above average around parts of New Zealand, according to Kevin Trenberth, an Auckland-based climate scientist.
  • High ocean temperatures contribute to extreme rainfall events on land, as more water is evaporated into the air and wrung out by weather systems.

By the numbers: Auckland saw its wettest day on record Friday, picking up 10.25 inches.

  • In parts of the city, it took just 3 hours to reach January’s monthly average rainfall.
  • With rainfall since Friday and more still expected, January 2023 may become Auckland’s all-time wettest month.

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