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27 Sep 08 - Unseasonably snowy weather has been
causing chaos in the deep south.
High winds and a sudden snowstorm disrupted Queenstown, New Zealand,
Saturday, closing the Lindis Pass, the airport, the gondola and even the
skifields.
Friday was a balmy 17.6 degree day but on Saturday Coronet Peak,
which is closed for the season, was covered in snow.
The weather is not typical for the end of September and took even the
most seasoned Queenstown farmers by surprise. It's the start of the
lambing season but a mild spring until now means so far so good.
In Queenstown itself, 20 millimetres of rain fell in three hours and the
gondola was forced to close for a time as the rain turned into sleet and
snow.
Queenstown's weather expert David Crow says no one forecast this much
snow and to get 10 centimetres is really unusual for September.
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/2110417
or see
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/news/28092008news.shtml
Thanks to Josh Cooley and John Brown for these links
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