By Tova O’Brien
The great debate in Auckland; was it snowing today, or wasn’t it?
Reports of snow came in from throughout the Auckland region including the CBD.
But with the combination of sleet, hail and rain that also fell in the city, there was a great deal of debate about what really qualifies as snow and if it did infact snow in Auckland.
According to NIWA, the short answer is yes; it did snow in Auckland. That makes today the first time it has snowed in Auckland since 1976. But NIWA says it was just a flurry – a brief snowfall that doesn’t settle on the ground. The last time snow actually settled or lay in Auckland was in the 1930s.
It is easy enough to confuse snow with sleet, which is a slushy combination of snow and rain.
To officially be snow, the flakes or ice crystals must be hexagonal in shape, with six branches. Otherwise, it’s just not snow.
The temperature in Auckland today dropped to 4DegC – the same as the inside of a fridge. But it felt even colder.
“The wind chill formula works out how much extra heat is being taken from your body and when it was four degrees it felt like it was something like -3,” says MetService weather ambassador Bob McDavitt.
Today marks the second coldest day in the year.
3 News
source: newshub archive
