Thunder, lightning, a five minute burst of hail and 15 minutes of heavy rain hit Alexandra yesterday afternoon, despite temperatures remaining above 20degC.
Streets and gutters in central Alexandra gushed with the sudden downpour of water, and on the town's rubbish collection day, recycling bins were washed down footpaths.
The Alexandra Volunteer Fire Brigade helped to pump water from main roads through the town. The storm was over as quickly as it had started, lasting from 1.55pm to 2.15pm, and by 3pm roads, footpaths and other paved areas were dry again.
One of the hottest and driest summers on record has left nearby rural land parched and yesterday rural landowners welcomed the rain. The rest of Central Otago missed the afternoon drama, with Ranfurly, Cromwell, Roxburgh and other small towns sitting under partly cloudy, but mostly calm, skies.
In Dunedin, overcast and cooler weather had brought slight relief to the city's water supplies but the rain had only been enough to settle the dust, Dunedin City Council water production manager Gerard McCombie said.
‘‘It's a welcome wee drop but not significant.'' The forecast for Dunedin for the rest of the week was for showers today then fine tomorrow, with showers on Thursday because of a change to the southwest, according to Met-Service forecaster Jo Gourdie.
Mr McCombie said the city's water catchments had shown slight improvement. Water restrictions remain at level 2 and the council was monitoring the situation closely.
Otago Regional Council environmental information and science director John Threlfall said the rain had been insignificant, with most river catchments receiving less than 3mm. The Taieri River at Outram had reached its recommended minimum flow after dropping rapidly during the weekend.
Other rivers around the region were also in low flows, with irrigators carefully controlling the flow, he said.
- The rain had eased and floodwaters were receding last night after flash floods had earlier caused major problems on some South Island roads, NZPA reported.
The worst hit area was State Highway 73, between Christchurch and the West Coast through Arthurs Pass, with floodwaters threatening to close off the Thomas Bridge at Castle Hill. The Lewis Pass had also been affected by heavy rain.
But Southern communication centre shift supervisor Inspector Trevor Cross said Transit had cleared away most of the slips and rock falls in the Arthur's Pass region and all roads were open.
