METSERVICE PROMISES "FINE AND SETTLED" OVER WHANGANUI — ONE CLOUD DIDN'T GET THE MEMO
The cloud is described as dark and rude.
MetService's Wednesday forecast for Whanganui Central — "fine and settled, light winds" — was contradicted within forty minutes by a single cloud which parked itself over Victoria Avenue and refused to move.
The cloud, about the size of the Cooks Gardens grandstand, started dumping rain directly above the war memorial. The rest of the sky stayed, to MetService's credit, fine.
Retired postie Lorraine Buick, 71, was halfway across the bridge when it started. "Sun on me back, rain on me front," she said. "Reminded me of the Anzac parade in '74. Bucketed down on the brass band and nowhere else. Same cloud, possibly."
A MetService spokesperson told The Daily Yarn the forecast remained "broadly accurate" and that one cloud did not constitute a weather event. Asked what it did constitute, the spokesperson said: "A cloud."
The cloud has since drifted toward Aramoho at walking pace, soaking the riverboat museum and one parked Hilux. Lorraine has gone home to change her jumper.
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Reader Letters
weathergrumble
Typical MetService, always getting it wrong!
weatherdefender
@weathergrumble People love to moan about MetService, but it's just a delivery guy for Mother Nature's messages!
Trev_Hornby
That cloud's got a mind of its own, doesn't it?
stormy_humourist
One cloud is a piss-take. MetService should hire it as forecaster-in-chief!
Sandra (Taihape)
'Fine', except for the pouring rain!
cloudchaser
Lol.
Garry (Halswell)
I remember back in '74, the same thing happened during the Anzac parade. It was like Mother Nature wanted to make her own statement, rain or shine. These erratic events prove that no forecast can ever be completely accurate, even with all the technology we've got today!
wayne1987
@Garry (Halswell) Mate, weather wasn’t the only thing different back then. These days, folks wouldn't know how to handle a bit of rain.
nz_pedant
A rogue cloud absolutely could be classified as a weather event if it disrupts local activities, despite what MetService claims!
random_thinker
What about the riverboat museum? Did anyone check if it started floating?