2011 New Zealand snowstorms

rdf:langString 2011 New Zealand snowstorms

rdf:langString The 2011 New Zealand snowstorms were a series of record breaking snow falls that affected both the North Island and South Island. The storms occurred over the span of a few weeks, beginning on 25 July 2011 in the North Island and subsequently spreading to the South. The storms subsided in late July and returned in August. It was the worst winter storm to hit New Zealand in seventy years. The heavy snowfalls caused widespread closures in many cities, including Christchurch, Wellington and Dunedin. The South Island was the hardest hit, although the North Island was significantly affected, with the climatically mild cities of Auckland and Wellington reporting the first notable snowfall in over twenty years. The storms caused chaos around the country, leaving people stranded at airports, blocking state highways and resulting in entire regions, particularly Canterbury and Otago, being completely closed. The initial storm of July was relatively short lived, only to return again in August. The winter storm also caused mixed precipitation. The snowfall was caused by Antarctic storms which moved northward. A large high pressure system had developed and stretched from Antarctica to the subtropics, where it had then merged with three neighbouring low pressure systems, causing cold temperatures and heavy snowfall.