How does New Zealand’s weather affect our roading network?

Video transcript

Timestamp	Visual information	Audio information
00:00:00	Car driving along a winding hillside that is being buffeted by wind.	Wind noise.
00:00:00	[Text] Whether it's wind.
00:00:02	Vehicles driving along a motorway in torrential rain.	Road noise and windscreen wipers.
00:00:02	[Text] Rain.
00:00:04	Large waves smashing into seawall along State Highway 59.	Waves breaking.
00:00:04	[Text] Swells.
00:00:06	Car driving along a snowy mountain pass.	Road noise.
00:00:06	[Text] Or snow?
00:00:08	Dashcam shot of driving in heavy rain.	Road and rain noise.
00:00:08	[Text] We're ready to respond and keep people safer.
00:00:13	Georgina Griffiths, MetService meteorologist being interviewed in front of screen showing weather systems.	A team of expert forecasters issues forecasts for road weather, for Waka Kotahi, each and every day.
00:00:19	Wide shot of swells rolling during storm on Kāpiti Coast; rough seas and rainbow looking over; vehicles passing through Alpine Pass after snowfall.	Weather in New Zealand is extremely changeable. We're surrounded by seas, so we can get weather systems from every which way - tropical cyclones from the north, the polar outbreaks from the south.
00:00:29	Dashcam from vehicle driving up Ngauranga Gorge during heavy rain, as water splashes up from passing car; vehicle driving down rural road after heavy snowfall.	Road noise.
00:00:29	[Text] Waka Kotahi and MetService work together to keep people informed about potential dangerous driving conditions.
00:00:38	Weather stations all over New Zealand – South Island alpine pass; coastal North Island; central Otago.
00:00:38	[Text] A network of 60 weather stations provide information on wind speeds, rainfall, temperatures and more.
00:00:43	MetService control centre – screens with weather systems being viewed by meteorologists.
00:00:43	[Text] That information is shared directly with Waka Kotahi teams throughout New Zealand.
00:00:50	Screens inside Transport Operations Centres, showing traffic movements.
00:00:50	[Text] It helps the country's Transport Operations Centres identify potential risks, ensure the roads are as safe as possible, and get road crews ready to respond.	It is so exciting to get the kids out learning how to ride bikes on a safe area, that's reasonably flat but also quite fun, and it's really exciting to get access to the other side of the railway station too.
00:00:58	Interview with Mark Owen, Waka Kotahi Regional Manager.	We can be very proactive in using their information, where they give us some intel around what?s potentially coming - how big, how bad and where it might occur.
00:01:05	Interview with Gerard Williams, Aspiring Highways Operations Engineer in front of screens showing weather conditions on the state highway network.	It's hugely important for us. We cover every bit of road every morning. We send guys out about 4 o'clock and we don't want for them to be finishing up and coming home at 6:30 if we know we're going to be having ice issues around 8 o'clock so that's where these forecasting tools really come in very handy for us.
00:01:20	Traffic driving over Auckland Harbour Bridge.
00:01:20	[Text] Advance warnings about severe weather can help prevent potential damage to critical infrastructure.
00:01:26	Dashcam footage driving through heavy snow on an alpine pass.
00:01:26	[Text] And with wild weather becoming more frequent, advance warnings help keep people safe.
00:01:29	Strong winds buffeting a narrow hillside road.
00:01:31	Grader clearing snow from alpine pass.	Grader scraping snow from road.
00:01:31	Our top priority is the safety of people using the roads, and the safety of everyone out there working on them.
00:01:35	Interview with Mark Owen, Waka Kotahi Regional Manager.	We might close roads, if we feel the dangers are too high, but we want to do that before the weather hits and then people are put at risk so it's really about the safety of our customers, our road users, our travellers.
00:01:42	Dash cam of vehicle travelling along snowy alpine pass.
00:01:42	[Text] Even with the best information, Mother Nature (Papatūānuku) usually has the last say.
00:01:46	Vehicle driving through Tekapo on a sunny day with snowy mountains in background.	Road noise.
00:01:51	Truck driving along coastal road on rainy day with waves smashing into seawall.	Truck driving down wet road and waves crashing against seawall.
00:01:51	[Text] That's why Waka Kotahi and MetService do everything we can to keep people informed and deliver a safe, more resilient transport network.
00:01:57	Waka Kotahi and MetService logos.

Time	00:00:00
Visual info	Car driving along a winding hillside that is being buffeted by wind.
Audio info	Wind noise.

Time	00:00:00
Visual info	[Text] Whether it's wind.
Audio info

Time	00:00:02
Visual info	Vehicles driving along a motorway in torrential rain.
Audio info	Road noise and windscreen wipers.

Time	00:00:02
Visual info	[Text] Rain.
Audio info

Time	00:00:04
Visual info	Large waves smashing into seawall along State Highway 59.
Audio info	Waves breaking.

Time	00:00:04
Visual info	[Text] Swells.
Audio info

Time	00:00:06
Visual info	Car driving along a snowy mountain pass.
Audio info	Road noise.

Time	00:00:06
Visual info	[Text] Or snow?
Audio info

Time	00:00:08
Visual info	Dashcam shot of driving in heavy rain.
Audio info	Road and rain noise.

Time	00:00:08
Visual info	[Text] We're ready to respond and keep people safer.
Audio info

Time	00:00:13
Visual info	Georgina Griffiths, MetService meteorologist being interviewed in front of screen showing weather systems.
Audio info	A team of expert forecasters issues forecasts for road weather, for Waka Kotahi, each and every day.

Time	00:00:19
Visual info	Wide shot of swells rolling during storm on Kāpiti Coast; rough seas and rainbow looking over; vehicles passing through Alpine Pass after snowfall.
Audio info	Weather in New Zealand is extremely changeable. We're surrounded by seas, so we can get weather systems from every which way - tropical cyclones from the north, the polar outbreaks from the south.

Time	00:00:29
Visual info	Dashcam from vehicle driving up Ngauranga Gorge during heavy rain, as water splashes up from passing car; vehicle driving down rural road after heavy snowfall.
Audio info	Road noise.

Time	00:00:29
Visual info	[Text] Waka Kotahi and MetService work together to keep people informed about potential dangerous driving conditions.
Audio info

Time	00:00:38
Visual info	Weather stations all over New Zealand – South Island alpine pass; coastal North Island; central Otago.
Audio info

Time	00:00:38
Visual info	[Text] A network of 60 weather stations provide information on wind speeds, rainfall, temperatures and more.
Audio info

Time
Visual info
Audio info

Time	00:00:43
Visual info	MetService control centre – screens with weather systems being viewed by meteorologists.
Audio info

Time	00:00:43
Visual info	[Text] That information is shared directly with Waka Kotahi teams throughout New Zealand.
Audio info

Time	00:00:50
Visual info	Screens inside Transport Operations Centres, showing traffic movements.
Audio info

Time	00:00:50
Visual info	[Text] It helps the country's Transport Operations Centres identify potential risks, ensure the roads are as safe as possible, and get road crews ready to respond.
Audio info	It is so exciting to get the kids out learning how to ride bikes on a safe area, that's reasonably flat but also quite fun, and it's really exciting to get access to the other side of the railway station too.

Time	00:00:58
Visual info	Interview with Mark Owen, Waka Kotahi Regional Manager.
Audio info	We can be very proactive in using their information, where they give us some intel around what?s potentially coming - how big, how bad and where it might occur.

Time	00:01:05
Visual info	Interview with Gerard Williams, Aspiring Highways Operations Engineer in front of screens showing weather conditions on the state highway network.
Audio info	It's hugely important for us. We cover every bit of road every morning. We send guys out about 4 o'clock and we don't want for them to be finishing up and coming home at 6:30 if we know we're going to be having ice issues around 8 o'clock so that's where these forecasting tools really come in very handy for us.

Time	00:01:20
Visual info	Traffic driving over Auckland Harbour Bridge.
Audio info

Time	00:01:20
Visual info	[Text] Advance warnings about severe weather can help prevent potential damage to critical infrastructure.
Audio info

Time	00:01:26
Visual info	Dashcam footage driving through heavy snow on an alpine pass.
Audio info

Time	00:01:26
Visual info	[Text] And with wild weather becoming more frequent, advance warnings help keep people safe.
Audio info

Time	00:01:29
Visual info	Strong winds buffeting a narrow hillside road.
Audio info

Time	00:01:31
Visual info	Grader clearing snow from alpine pass.
Audio info	Grader scraping snow from road.

Time	00:01:31
Visual info	Our top priority is the safety of people using the roads, and the safety of everyone out there working on them.
Audio info

Time	00:01:35
Visual info	Interview with Mark Owen, Waka Kotahi Regional Manager.
Audio info	We might close roads, if we feel the dangers are too high, but we want to do that before the weather hits and then people are put at risk so it's really about the safety of our customers, our road users, our travellers.

Time	00:01:42
Visual info	Dash cam of vehicle travelling along snowy alpine pass.
Audio info

Time	00:01:42
Visual info	[Text] Even with the best information, Mother Nature (Papatūānuku) usually has the last say.
Audio info

Time	00:01:46
Visual info	Vehicle driving through Tekapo on a sunny day with snowy mountains in background.
Audio info	Road noise.

Time	00:01:51
Visual info	Truck driving along coastal road on rainy day with waves smashing into seawall.
Audio info	Truck driving down wet road and waves crashing against seawall.

Time	00:01:51
Visual info	[Text] That's why Waka Kotahi and MetService do everything we can to keep people informed and deliver a safe, more resilient transport network.
Audio info

Time	00:01:57
Visual info	Waka Kotahi and MetService logos.
Audio info