Chasing Cyclone Dovi

On February 8th, Tropical Cyclone 11P developed into a Cat 1 (Australian Scale) near Vanuatu and was named Dovi. After causing flooding and landslides in Vanuatu, Dovi began its march southwards, impacting New Caledonia. On February 10th, it was upgraded to a Cat 3. With all models suggesting that Dovi was on a collision course with New Zealand, I joined friend Geoff Mackley on a chase that would take us from Auckland, half way down the North Island and back to Auckland in search of damaging floods and winds.

We had certainty that NZ was going to be impacted, but knowing exactly where proved to be a very difficult proposition. When Cyclones reach NZ waters, they transition into an extratropical low and typically lose their tight core and expand into a massive mess of rain and wind. Dovi was no different. The models forecasted possible impact to the entire country, with damaging winds in Auckland and 300mm+ rainfall near Wellington. Taranaki and the Tararua Ranges were where rainfall of 300mm+ was expected, so we packed our gear and headed south on Friday evening, bound for Taranaki first.

Weather model showing >360mm of rainfall across the Tararua Ranges

Heading south towards Taranaki

Dovi had become such a mess, with a massive “tongue” extending to the south which would impact two days before the eye would reach our shores. Whilst the models suggested Taranaki would receive an early 100-150mm of rain, the rain radar confirmed this band was further north and impacting an area just south of Te Kuiti. So we stuck around this area and experienced plenty of rain, slips and surface flooding.

Slips at SH3 near Awakino

Surface flooding at Piopio

Sheltering at the local petrol station – Piopio

Slip near Piopio

Assessing the slip the next morning.

Flooding near Te Kuiti

The next morning, we had a BIG decision to make. The models had continued to weaken their rainfall forecasts with some even doubting rain would reach 100mm in the Tararuas. Meanwhile, the same models were suggesting very large gales in Auckland, even reaching 150km/hr. Auckland vary rarely gets wind of the magnitude. Would we continue south, or return to Auckland? In the end, we decided to keep our eyes peeled on the rain radar to see if the rainfall was arriving near Wellington. If it was, we’d head south. If it wasn’t, we’d head north.

The rain came, but it was further south than forecasted. So far south in fact, it was coming in at the top of the SOUTH Island. With ferry services cancelled, there was no way for us to get there. And so our decision was made to head North.

As we returned to Auckland, the wind was picking up. We found a motel and got a few hours sleep. We were up early the next morning and made a decision to head out to Piha to experience the full force of the cyclonic winds and then slowly make our way back through the city and follow Dovi south for a bit.

Arriving back in Auckland and already warning residents.

Piha was quite extreme. Big winds smashed into us along the cliff top road. The surf was intense and the sand was extremely painful as it got whipped up with the wind. Piha is normally a very popular spot. Today we had it all to ourselves.

Filming in high winds at Piha

Heading back, it was clear hundreds of trees had come down all over the city. We captured a few of these, one toppled right over a car.

We continued south, making it all the way to Waiuku and out to the coast at Kariotahi. Here we found the Kariotahi waterfall falling the wrong way – upwards. I was able to stand at the base and stay completely dry.

In summary, Dovi was below average for both rain and wind for typical NZ extratropical lows. However, it was great to get back chasing post lockdown. With borders reopening, we’re planning to head to Asia to chase some monster Typhoons this season.

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