METSERVICE INSISTS LINWOOD IS "FINE AND SUNNY" AS RESIDENTS WATCH ICEBERG DRIFT PAST NEW WORLD
The app shows a smiling sun. The wheelie bins are sideways. Something has to give.
The MetService app was still showing a cheerful yellow sun over Linwood at 9.42am Tuesday, despite residents reporting they could, with the naked eye, see Antarctica from the corner of Stanmore Road.
Local Hayley Brouwer, 34, said she'd checked the forecast three times before walking the dog. "App reckoned 14 and sunny. I've got a frost on the inside of the lounge window and the budgie's gone quiet. The budgie does not go quiet for nothing."
A neighbour, Ged Whittaker, said the southerly had come through about 7am "like it had a grudge." He'd gone out to bring the bin in and lost a slipper. "Slipper's in Bromley now, I'd reckon. Not chasing it. It's made its choice."
A MetService spokesperson said the forecast was "broadly accurate for the wider Canterbury region" and that localised conditions could vary. Asked whether "localised" included "the entire eastern half of the city being visibly frozen", they said the app would update "shortly".
The app updated at 10.15am to show light cloud. By then two pōhutukawa on Linwood Avenue had given up and the dairy had run out of milk because the delivery truck "couldn't feel its hands".
Hayley's budgie remains under review.
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Reader Letters
Margaret_F
I remember a storm in '87 when the gulf breeze turned the bins upside down and we still went out to mow the lawn! All this fuss over a chilly morning.
Margaret_F
@Garry (Halswell) I think you’ve got Stanmore Road confused with another spot. It's more exposed than sheltered.
Bishopdale_Barry
"BUDGIE'S GONE QUIET" HAHA. Weather's gone mad everywhere because the council spends more on flowers than fixing drain covers. Priorities are skewed!
couchgremlin
Really feels like a couch day, tbqh.
Garry (Halswell)
Isn't Stanmore Road meant to be sheltered? Sounds like the southerly is getting in through the side door again.
MumOf3_NZ
Honestly, who even uses the MetService app anymore? The kids' sniffles are more reliable than any update.
Trev_Linwood
The real mystery here is what the hell my slipper's doing over in Bromley.