We arrived in Nelson on 29 December. My friend John picked us up at the airport and proceeded to tell us of the huge amounts of rain they had received. After dropping us off at our place, the rain began again and basically continued off and on until Sunday the 1st of January. It turns out he wasn't kidding. I didn't really appreciate what he was saying. I was looking at the weather summary in the local paper from Friday the 30th of December. It indicated they had received 435 milliliters of rain for December. The previous maximum for December was 180 milliliters. The annual average is 941 milliliters. So, by the end of December they had received nearly 3 times the previous maximum rainfall for December. Further, the December total was half the annual average. In terms of inches, 435 milliliters equates to about 27 inches of rain.
The city of Nelson is in a valley surrouded by hills. Many of the homes are built up on these hills creating spectacular views of the town and the ocean. With the rain, many have had their home's integrity compromised and have been forced to evacuate. Some of the roads have been closed due to landslides.
The weather has taken a turn for the better today as it was gloriously sunny and in the low 70's (23C). While the rain is better than the earthquakes Christchurch has dealt with, it has been a troubling problem for Nelsonians.
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