Powerful Low Sends Powerful Waves to the Shores of New Zealand (credit: ABC News)

Huge crashing waves made driving a challenge for motorists along this coastal highway in New Zealand. https://t.co/cYY2tLd7M7 pic.twitter.com/etmibHDQTQ

— ABC News (@ABC) February 1, 2018

DISCUSSION: Over the past few days, a progressively stronger low-pressure system has been barreling directly towards central and southern portions of New Zealand.  As a result of this increasingly stronger low-pressure system approaching the island nation of New Zealand, this system consequently began to generate increasing larger ocean swells.  Thus, as this increasingly deeper low-pressure system continued approaching central/southern New Zealand, this promoted increasingly more intense wave action along the immediate coastline.  As with all intense coastal wave action from incoming low-pressure systems, this also consequently induced pronounced inland flooding (especially around inland towns/cities which lie at a similar elevation as that of the immediate coastline). 

It is also worth noting that regions including (but certainly not limited to) the East Coast of the United States of America are not unfamiliar to such events during the Winter season by any means.  This is primarily due to the increased propensity for Winter-time coastal low-pressure systems during the Winter months (i.e., December through March). When such storm systems do occur, they often deliver quite a nasty punch to coastal towns and cities.  Often times, leaving many thousands (and sometimes even millions) of people without power for an extended period of time. Attached above is raw footage of strong wave action along part of the coastline of southern New Zealand during this recent event. As you can see, the wave action was quite ferocious during this evening and undoubtedly led to substantial beach erosion. Also attached above is a neat slideshow rendering of the progression of this recent low-pressure system over the course of roughly 48 to 60 hours per surface analyses in the vicinity of Australia and New Zealand. Therefore, if and when you are ever in the path of a coastal low-pressure system and are asked to evacuate immediate coastal regions, be sure to heed the warnings accordingly.

To learn more about other high-impact weather events occurring across the South Pacific Ocean and Australia, be sure to click here!

© 2018 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz