PHOTOGRAPH OF THE WEEK - 24 January 2006

Choosing the Photograph of the Week this week has been the toughest decision we have had to make. The entries have been exceptional.

As a consequence we are proud to say that we have got it all this week - lightning, a funnel cloud, punch hole clouds, interesting optical phenomena and a spectacular sunrise and sunset.

It is truely amazing that so much has happened in the skies of New Zealand in the past few weeks, we have also sneaked in a beautiful Aussie mammatus cloud.

Kelly Cattermole

'Sadly I got home too late and missed out on the best that the thunderstorm could offer. But I was able to get this shot before I had to take cover from the hail that came with the storm. The photo was taken around midnight' wrote Kelly.

We love the photo Kelly, fantastic, ......and to say that you missed the best of it!!!

Kelly's photograph was taken at Kirwee on 5 January 2006 using a Nikon Coolpix 4300 and looking in a SW direction. This is the second time that Kelly has had a photograph chosen as the Photograph of the Week, check here for his earlier winner.

Isobel Caldwell

We watched funnel clouds forming repeatedly for about 30 minutes on our way through Maramarua on State Highway 2 on 30 December 2005. Love the website, please keep up the good work' wrote Isobel.

Isobel Caldwell

This is a blow-up of the funnel cloud shown in the photograph above.

Wayne Brasch

Wayne wrote 'I am a regular viewer of the MetVUW site and enjoy the readers' images. I was most taken aback by Ron Ovenden's hole punch cloud images taken on 18 October 2005.

I was fortunate enough to photograph a large hole punch cloud near Whangarei on 25 March 2005 (Shown above).

I thought that to be a once in a lifetime experience and felt privileged not only to have bourne witness to, but also to be fortunate enough to have photographed such a rarely seen phenomena.

However, on New Years Eve (day) I was treated to seeing and photographing three of these hole punch clouds, one being a twin and the other a single. I have attached these images. They are as follows:'

Wayne Brasch

Showing the "twin hole punch". Taken at 13:06.

Wayne Brasch

As the 'twin hole punch' drifted off to the NE another smaller one formed, unfortunately I did not seen the forming process as I had gone inside to download the first lot of images.

This photo shows the third smaller 'hole punch'. Taken at 13:28.

Matt Rowland

'This is my photo attempt. It popped up on xmas day, no rain in sight, from our home in Masterton. I glanced up from my turkey and spotted it. Keep up the great site and all the best' wrote Matt.

Sarah Simpson

Sarah wrote 'My husband and I photographed this unusual twisting rainbow cloud on Friday afternoon 30 December 2005 near Roy's Hill in Hastings. I've questioned and shown the pictures to my two oldest relatives both farming types (95 and 92 years old) and neither have seen anything quite like it before.

Either way they could well serve as a great photos for your fantastic site which we and our friends refer to for forecasts regularly.'

We agree Sarah, these are great photos.

Sarah Simpson

James Russell

Attached is a photo taken 30 December 2005 north of the Hokianga Harbour at Kohukohu (where the car ferry arrives).

We just called it a 'rainbow in the clouds' but it follows on nicely from your recent photo of the week.

Taken on my brand new shiny Canon 350D with 28-90mm lens and circular polarising filter.

Your webpage is really useful for my work on offshore islands researching rat invasions. Let's me know what to expect in the week ahead of fieldwork' wrote James.

Since publishing this week's Photo of the Week we have received a couple of very interesting emails.

The first is from Ian Couper of Feilding. Ian wrote 'just a few comments on some of the photos this week. The ones taken by Matt Rowland, Sarah Simpson and James Russell (shown above) are all of segments of a CHA (Circum Horizontal Arc). These ice halo forms can only appear in the period mid Oct to mid Feb in the southern hemisphere when the sun can reach an altitude of 58° or more. This occurs a few hours either side of true noon. The CHA appears 46° below the sun with the red side closest to the sun and can span as much as 40° long parallel to the horizon.

The second email was from Alastair Jamieson. He wrote 'I thought the MetVUW website audience might be interested in this newly published satellite image of the aurora australis encircling Antarctica in September 2005. New Zealand is visible in the image near the top of the globe.'

This is well worth a visit. Many thanks to Ian and Alastair.

Brian Barclay

'This is from the morning of 11 January 2006 a cool, still Waikato summer morning 8 degrees this morning as the sun was rising over our farm just out of Te Awamutu. Just a trace of Waikato fog as you see' wrote Brian

Sarah Ell

'I am by no means a meterologist but I am an avid viewer of your site, as my partner and I find the forecast charts to be a very useful tool when planning our sailing (or seeing what it's going to be like when we have racing scheduled). I also enjoy looking at the cloud photos, and wonder if I might presume to send some in.

This photo was taken on the evening of 2 January 2006, in Gisborne. We had been camping around the East Cape but had scurried to a motel to avoid the forecast high winds that were lashing the country. The wind wasn't too bad on the land (maybe 15 knots) but it was much windier out to sea (25-35, judging from the wave conditions). Just on dusk the light in the motel changed dramatically to a very golden tone and I went outside and took these shots of the sky. The strange light was being caused by the setting sun shining on a very unusual-looking blanket of cloud; not what we yachties would call a 'windy sky' at all, but very attractive. The evening was also very warm' wrote Sarah.

Ben Carpenter

Ben also catured this spectacular sunset. He was looking approx West from the camping ground just across the road from Waikanae Beach in Gisborne. This photo was also taken on the 2 January 2006, at about 21:45.

Paul Moss

Paul wrote 'Christmas day gave me my first ever opportunity to photograph good looking mammatus clouds, from the front yard of our Brisbane house.

The location is Thornlands, 20 km south-west of Brisbane cbd, at sunset. A substantial front moved across the Brisbane area, from SW to NE, in typical fashion, with major sized cb's at about 50 km spacing.'

Well folks there are still several more great photographs sitting in my inbox however the time is now 02:30 and I am heading off to bed - James McGregor, MetVUW.com

SUBMITTING PHOTOGRAPHS

If you would like to submit a weather or weather related photograph to the metvuw.com website please click here and send it/them as an email attachment. Our preference is for unmanipulated full resolution photographs.

Please provide the full name of the photographer and as much detail about the photograph - location, time and prevailing weather. It is also useful to know camera and exposure details and the direction the camera was pointing. Most of the photographs that we publish are from New Zealand, however we are happy to consider interesting photographs of weather phenomena from any part of the world.

We are often approached by book and magazine editors for permission to use photographs shown here. We do not divulge your contact details but are happy to pass on such requests to you as they arise. Copyright of all the photographs shown on the site remain the property of the originator. Submission of photographs implies your permission for us to publish on the metvuw.com site unless you specifically instruct otherwise. Photographs containing logos or other text can not be considered for publication. If you have any further queries please don't hesitate to contact James.

PREVIOUS PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE WEEK

2009

27 November 2009 Noel Becker - South Westland rainbow
20 November 2009 Robin Booth - Pastel skies, Morogoro in Tanzania
13 November 2009 Paddy Darkin - Lightning strike - Whale Island
6 November 2009 Paul Grover - Mt Cook from Hermitage Car Park
30 October 2009 Fritz Schöne - Rainbow south of Wellington
23 October 2009 Linda McGuire - Mt Taranaki and fog from Tikorangi
16 October 2009 Carl Thompson - High level cloud nr Lake Wanaka
9 October 2009 Noel Munford - Sun pillar and upper tangent arc
3 October 2009 John Hunter - Sun pillar, 200miles ne of North Cape
25 September 2009 Joanne Bell - Foggy Waikato River, Huntly
18 September 2009 Murray Cave - Clouds over the Torlesse Range
11 September 2009 Mark Emirali - Rainbow at Whatipu
4 September 2009 Kahl Olsen - Fog, Tukituki Valley from Te Mata Peak
29 August 2009 Mark Merriman - Kelvin Helmholtz instability, U. Moutere
20 August 2009 James Panckhurst - Dew deposition on a trampoline
13 August 2009 Ian Thompson - Frosty morning - Lindis Pass
30 July 2009 Teresa Lamont - Franz Josef Glacier
21 July 2009 Stefan Krivan - Moondog, Palmerston North
13 July 2009 Hamish McCaul - Ice patterns on a car roof
5 July 2009 Trevor Chinn - Rimed spider webs
28 June 2009 Carolyn Blackett - Frosty in the Catlins
21 June 2009 Fiona Bignell - Sunset just out of Methven
14 June 2009 Gavin Dann - Lenticular cloud - Two Thumb Range
7 June 2009 Daniel Dwen - Cloud formation Cape Palliser
31 May 2009 Rachel Christie - Circumhorizontal arc
22 May 2009 Pam Blackwell - Cloud layers over the Volcanic Plateau
15 May 2009 Geoff Cloake - 22° halo
8 May 2009 Colin Langley - Hole punch cloud, Hauraki Gulf
1 May 2009 Steve Robb - Riverton sunset
24 April 2009 David Havell - Moonrise over Ngaruahoe
17 April 2009 Lloyd Esler - Sub Sun pillar, over Southland
10 April 2009 John Krippner - Morning fog, Te Rore, Te Awamutu
3 April 2009 Ulrika Silfverberg - Low cloud, Great Barrier Island
27 March 2009 Lloyd Esler - Fogbow Isla Bank, Southland
20 March 2009 Liz Quilty - Sunset over Auckland
13 March 2009 Scott Wilkinson - Ice buildup on blades of grass, Iceland
6 March 2009 Sheryl Logan - Hole punch cloud, Maungaturoto, Northland
28 February 2009 Alison Graville - Circumhorizontal arc, Auckland
20 February 2009 Robert Fleming - White Island plume and sea fog
8 February 2009 Steve Butler - Victoria bush fire smoke in NZ
1 February 2009 Mark Braithwaite - Electrical storm, Christchurch
25 January 2009 Tim Appelhans - Waterspout, Sumner Bay, Christchurch
16 January 2009 Noel Munford - Morning fog, Okura
9 January 2009 Tristan Hughes - Lenticular clouds, Cook Straight crossing
2 January 2009 Andrew Blackler - 22° halo and circumhorizontal arc, Piha

2008

27 December 2008 Bob Sayer - Towering cumulus, near Townsville
19 December 2008 Carl Thompson - Lenticular clouds, Wanaka
9 December 2008 Bill Claridge - Cloud streets, Banks Peninsula
30 November 2008 David Hood - Mammatus clouds in Dunedin
22 November 2008 Abhishek Singh - Palmerston North sunset
17 November 2008 John Palmer - Cook Strait and Turakirae Head
7 November 2008 Emily Brodnicki - Lenticulars over Mt Nguarahoe
31 October 2008 Geoff Cloake - 22° and 46° halo, parhelia and tangent arc
24 October 2008 Pam Gill - Dawn at Waipukurau
10 October 2008 Noel Munford - Virga, jet contrail, Palmerston North
3 October 2008 Darelle Busfield - Mammatus, Spreydon, Christchurch
26 September 2008 Andrew Hamer - Rainbow over Lyttelton harbour
19 September 2008 Peter Munro - Lenticular cloud over Two Thumb range
12 September 2008 Geoff Tempest - Hoare frost, near Alexandra
5 September 2008 Hugh Thorpe - Filtered sunlight, St Albans, Christchurch
29 August 2008 Robin Booth - Cirrus clouds over Kerikeri
22 August 2008 Anna Humphries - Threatening clouds, Central Otago
15 August 2008 Katja Riedel - Ice crystals, summit of Mt Taranaki
8 August 2008 Matthew McGinnes - Mt Hutt from just outside Methven
1 August 2008 Elizabeth Passuello - Severe easterly gales, Greymouth
25 July 2008 Jerry Zinn - Sunset, Takapuna
18 July 2008 Alex Young - Sunlight, cloud and mountains, Wanaka
11 July 2008 Ian Orchard - Sunlight, cloud and mountains, Wanaka
4 July 2008 Paul Moss - Cloud iridesence, Wellington
27 June 2008 Christopher Picking - Moonrise, Kaituna, Wairarapa
20 June 2008 John Patterson - Wellington fog
13 June 2008 Patrick Davey - Kelvin-Helmholtz wave clouds
6 June 2008 Linda Paterson - New Plymouth sunset
30 May 2008 Craig Ross - Lifting fog in Wairarapa Hills
23 May 2008 Neil Colliver - Mountain shadow, Mount Ruapehu
16 May 2008 Ben Taylor - Fabulous Fiordland weather
9 May 2008 Noel Munford - Rainbow in the Manawatu
2 May 2008 Paul Dulieu - Mammatus cloud, St. Arnaud
25 April 2008 Andrea Buckthought - Funnel cloud, Ngatea
18 April 2008 Rikki Griffin - Westerly showers, Te Anau
11 April 2008 Andrew Rodley - Sunset Panorama Heights Nelson
4 April 2008 Bruce McLennan - Sunset Hamner Springs
28 March 2008 Jan Kaluza - Cloud iridesence over Hamilton
21 March 2008 Shirley Herbert - Misty morning, Kaimanua Ranges
14 March 2008 Kelly Kruger - Altocumulus clouds, at Mangonui
7 March 2008 Shea Evans - Beautiful rainbow, Lake Wakatipu
29 February 2008 Maggie de Grauw - Circumhorizon arc, Tirohia
22 February 2008 Steve Howat - Water spout off Kapiti coast
15 February 2008 Peter Loveridge - Lenticulars from Mt von Bulow
8 February 2008 Marty Rivers - Electrical storm, Perth, Australia
1 February 2008 Steve Thomson - Dove shaped cloud Auckland CBD
25 January 2008 Tony Travaglia - Fisheye photo of halo around sun
18 January 2008 Vicky Orbell - Lightning near Fairlie
11 January 2008 John Wilkinson - Dust devil at Omarama
4 January 2008 Dave Gordon - Across Tasman Bay from Atawhai

2007

28 December 2007 Cameron Hoyle - Funnel cloud near White Island
21 December 2007 Les Edwards - Cloud reflections in Lake Tarawera
14 December 2007 John Coplestone - Cloud caps on Mount Taranaki
7 December 2007 Darren Gedye - Thunderstorm over Tauranga
30 November 2007 Paul van Kampen - Fogbow at the Green Lake
23 November 2007 Olga Zubkova - Sunset at Waikanae
16 November 2007 Tom Hall - Lightning strike, Wellington
9 November 2007 Diarmuid Kingsleigh-Smith - Sunrise in Auckland
2 November 2007 Rona Lomas - Fabulous lenticular over Mt Ngauruhoe
25 October 2007 Cheryl Retallick - Mammatus at Levin
12 October 2007 Liam Anderson - Water spout at Hokitika Beach
5 October 2007 Dale Savage - Mt Ruapehu eruption
28 September 2007 Andrew Blackler - Sun Dog, Onehunga
21 September 2007 Peter Kirby - Lightning strike Gold Coast, Australia
14 September 2007 Rick Brown - Anti-crepuscular rays Anaura Bay
7 September 2007 Don Macalister - Hauraki Gulf weather, Easter 2005
31 August 2007 Sean Clynes - Eclipse of the Moon 28 August 2007
24 August 2007 Andrew Wardell - Spectacular sun pillar Mt Ngauruhoe
17 August 2007 Tony Kellett - Rainbow, Taranaki Street, Wellington
10 August 2007 Philip Blackler - Light scattering off water droplets
31 July 2007 John O'Malley - Rare ice haloes and arcs
4 May 2007 Neil Smart - Glory and the Brocken Spectre
20 April 2007 Andrew Blackler - Waterbow at Titoki, Northland
31 March 2007 Bob Bingham - Flooding at Kerikeri
16 March 2007 John Nysse - Lake Matherson
2 March 2007 Gary Briggs - Lake Pukaki and Aorangi
18 January 2007 Noel Munford - Comet McNaught, viewed from Levin
10 January 2007 Vicky Orbell - Gathering storm, Central Otago

2006

18 December 2006 Helen Greenfield - Port Hills, Christchurch
30 October 2006 Rob Bargh - Taranaki from Ruapehu
16 October 2006 Mike Nicholson - Double rainbow
5 October 2006 Wynston Cooper - Hollyford view
28 September 2006 Quentin Smith - Lightning strike Mount Maud
21 September 2006 Micky Waby - Rainbow over the Rees River
1 August 2006 Micky Waby - Iridescent lenticular cloud formation
10 July 2006 Mel Hodgkinson - Fog in central Wellington
19 April 2006 Phil Bones - Cap cloud on Mt Hooker from Dasler Pinnacles
7 April 2006 Richard Park - Sugar Loaf Islands, New Plymouth
31 March 2006 James McGregor - Total Eclipse of the Sun, Turkey
24 March 2006 Brian Waugh - Wave clouds, Tawa
7 March 2006 Michael MacGregor - Cap cloud on Taranaki
7 February 2006 Dawn McKenzie - Waterspout from Manly, Whangapararoa
24 January 2006 Kelly Cattermole - Lightning at Kirwee
3 January 2006 James McGregor - 22° halo, Southern Wairarapa

2005

13 December 2005 Daniel Lowe - Funnel cloud, Greymouth
29 November 2005 Jim Gabbitas - Sunset in Newmarket, Auckland
1 November 2005 Ron Court - Magnificent wave clouds at Hanmer Springs
25 October 2005 Ron Ovenden - Hole punch clouds at Whatawhata
18 October 2005 John Forsyth - Low level cloud, Whitereia Park
11 October 2005 Adrienne Walczak - Eggs balloon and Balfour Glacier
20 September 2005 Craig Liken - Falling snow, Christchurch
14 September 2005 MetVUW - PM's visit to the home of MetVUW
23 August 2005 Adrienne Walczak - Eggs hot air balloon over Ruapehu
9 August 2005 Helen Bucksey - Rainbow at Tokaanu
2 August 2005 Adrian Godfrey - Lenticular clouds
5 July 2005 Robert Anderson - Ardmore tornado
28 June 2005 Adrian Godfrey - Lenticular cloud off Ruapehu
21 June 2005 James McGregor - Cumulus development over the Tararuas
14 June 2005 Peter Kirby - North Island snow scene + More NZ mammatus
7 June 2005 Bruce Turner - Auckland City fog
31 May 2005 Nanette Sinclair - Foggy cobwebs, Orepuki + US mammatus
24 May 2005 Tony Travaglia - Aurora Australis
17 May 2005 Sue O'Malley - Fog bow, glory and brocken spectre
10 May 2005 Ian Frame - Wellington rainbows
3 May 2005 Ian Orchard - Hagley Park fog
26 April 2005 David Jensen - Atmospheric waves
19 April 2005 Dave Swarbrick - Hole Punch clouds, Auckland
12 April 2005 Michael Franklin - Stewart Island front
5 April 2005 Ian Cooper - Palmerston North funnel cloud
29 March 2005 Jennie McCormick - Spectacular mammatus
22 March 2005 Steve Ancsell - Matamata funnel cloud
15 March 2005 Kelly Cattermole - Kirwee sunset
8 March 2005 Craig Miller - Altocumulus from slopes of Ruapehu
1 March 2005 John Robinson - Gliding above Roxburgh
22 February 2005 Grant Middendorf - CB at Matara
15 February 2005 Pete Bielby - Christchurch sunset

SATELLITE MOVIES

August 2006

This movie shows the weather for the month of August 2006. Click thumbnail or here to view the 1-31 August 2006 movie. (File size 5.44 Mbs)

PREVIOUS SATELLITE MOVIES

QuickTime movie - 1-31 January 2006. (File size 5.43 Mbs)
QuickTime movie - 1-30 June 2006. (File size 9.24 Mbs)
QuickTime movie - 1-31 July 2006. (File size 5.73 Mbs)
QuickTime movie - severe snow storms 10-13 June 2006. (File size 683.1 kbs)


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