Dear Kiwi,

Weather -
Our Daily Influencer

Hardly a month goes by without some sort of major weather event impacting our lives.
Although it's been relatively quiet over May, there were isolated events. We can never let our guard down, as some of these events develop quicker and are more intense than expected.
Preparedness will help you get through, so keep your power bank charged (if you have one). If there is flooding (like at Ngongataha in early May) early information could be very useful.

Crown Range Pass

Spam & E-mail Delays

Recently, one CDEM region stopped using e-mail for communicating alerts stating there were issues with it. We still feel it's better than nothing.
We too have been affected, and e-mails sometime arrive too late to be of use, plus Xtra/Spark's robots periodically consider Lerts as spam. We have continual battles with them. Txt messages still get through immediately, >99% of the time. You can upgrade for just $2/mth (half a cup of coffee)! The difference is, we may save your life. Just login and select upgrade.
If you wish to stay e-mail only, and that's totally understandable, please check our message's time stamp to see how old the e-mail is.

Roving Reporters

In April we asked people to be our eyes and ears. The response was immediate, and we've generated two exclusive alerts; one was where a member sent a photo showing settling snow on the Crown Range. This was not expected to happen. We immediately created an alert and sent it to people from Wanaka to Queenstown. It became "Chains essential" by the morning.

Winter Tips

1. Give your car a winter service
2. Have an ice scraper
3. Travel with food, water and a blanket
4. Tell someone when and where you're travelling
5. Keep your phone charged and carry a power bank

Snow and Ice

There have been several days where chains have been required to be fitted or carried. If you know you're going to travel a road that may require chains, always have them in the car so you won't get caught out, and get a weather update.
It could be a long cold winter.

Stay warm, stay safe!

The Lert Info team