A severe storm brought extremely heavy rain, strong winds and high elevation snow to New Zealand's South Island and lower North Island on November 7 and 8, 2018. In just 57 hours, parts of the region received 652 mm (25.6 inches) of rain - more than it usually receives in a year.
"Among the main weather concerns today are heavy rain for the west of the South Island, spilling across the Alps, and severe gales from Canterbury to Wellington," MetService meteorologist Gerrit Keyser said ahead of the storm. "There are numerous severe weather warnings and watches out for the South Island and lower North Island, lasting to Friday."
"This rainfall event is significant and rivers in both Westland and Canterbury will rise quickly," Keyser said.
NIWA meteorologist Benn Noll said the downpour was due to a phenomenon called an "atmospheric river" - a long, narrow region in the atmosphere which transports most of the water vapour outside of the tropics.
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