After last year's weather debacle in the spring which cost millions in dead newborn stock, farmers will be keeping a careful watch on weather patterns over the next two months.
And after an excellent autumn and mild winter, the chances are the weather gods will compensate at some stage, which makes this weather watch prediction disturbing.
Unfortunately the "moon mans" views are also for a cold wet, and occassional snowy spring ,to further raise the anxiety levels at a crucial time of the year.
Lessons will have been learnt from last years catastrophe so farmers will be more conservative with feed and shelter planning ahead. Also a new disaster insurance cover is avaliable for this time of year, which could interest those that are more debt pressured and financially vulnerable.
Newborn lambs and calves might be in for a chilly start to their lives as the chance of more snow storms remains high over the next 12 weeks, WeatherWatch.co.nz says. Forecaster Philip Duncan said the "neutral conditions" hanging over the country meant exposure to extreme weather reports The ODT.
"Right now we can have a real mixed bag of weather...a snowy blast one day, a sub-tropical low the next, then settled for a week." As spring approached the biggest storms of the year were moving over the Southern Ocean. "If one (storm) is coupled with a big high west of New Zealand it could help drive in a big southerly and again bring in more snow."
Fellow forecaster Richard Green said the recent warm winds over the South Island often preceded snowy events. Warm winds in winter were often a sign of very large air pressure zones -- so extra warm on one side could sometimes mean extra cold on the other. While farmers planned for snow every year, early snow predictions could be helpful, Mr Green said.
Last year a spring snow storm in Southland killed half a million lambs and collapsed Stadium Southland on September 18. Mr Duncan said one positive about snow at this time of the year was that it tended to pass quickly. "Spring is a fast moving season, things don't usually hang around too long."
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