Otago's Wild Winds are Whipping the Roof off!

brought to you by Barrantes Tour & Travel weather reporter, Todd

Similar to September 2010 and one other time this summer, the wild winds of Otago and New Zealand have blown across Dunedin again this morning.  This time, however, they decided to blow some roof bits off of Vanessa's flat and the adjoining unit.

The wind started early, before sunrise, and howled most of the morning.  At around 10:15am, while I was quietly trying to work, I heard a loud bang.  Upon investigation, I found several large pieces of siding (or as some say, weatherboard) which used to cover the outside wall between the two units, all over the driveway.  Shortly after that, parts of the flashing on both units started to peal back, and parts of the roof itself soon followed.

 

 In case you were wondering, metal roof trim, being blown across a metal roof, is VERY loud when you are standing inside under it.  Think of giant metal fingers on a metal chalkboard.  Yikes!!

What do you do in New Zealand when your roof starts to blow away you may ask?  You call the Fire Brigade, of course!  That is just what Vanessa did, and they arrived a little while later.  Three guys, a ladder, a hammer, and a paint bucket full of nails, in full fire gear, waltzed down the driveway and went to work.  They secured things back as much as possible, making it safe enough until a builder can come by and properly repair the damage.

Check out the neighbors' tree!

Thankfully, by 1pm, the winds had died down, the roof was (at least temporarily) repaired, and I could go back about my work day in peace.

Click here to see how the wind was blowing the water right out of Otago Harbour onto the road.  Scary!