Waitangi Day – lucky to escape rain
THURSDAY JANUARY 31, 2013
(pic, acknowledgement Wellington City Council)
First posted on this website 15 February 2012.
There has been much talk about the need to celebrate Waitangi Day as our national day, a holiday for all and a day for families to enjoy getting out together and celebrating the summer weather at a beautiful and historic venue. It is usually held on 6 February each year. In 2013, 6 February falls on a Wednesday.
Whilst the political issue is not for debate here, the state of the weather is. There is no point celebrating national importance on a wet and stormy and miserable day, when children run the risk of getting colds, and retailers will go to a lot of trouble for possibly low returns.
Our opinion is that Waitangi Day should be relegated to the nearest weekend, so the following Monday is a holiday, but also that there are at least 3 days to celebrate, which would provide more of a chance of fine weather.
About 10-15mm of rain was expected in Russell in the run-up to Wednesday 6 February 2013. Barometric pressures were expected to be the lowest that or the previous day for the whole of February. The previous rain may not have been pleasant in Northland, and may have added fuel to the fire of those wishing to close the holiday down.
You can get reports yourself for any period and location between now and 2019 by clicking on http://www.predictweather.com/Forecasts.aspx?id=1