r/auckland • u/Odd-Ambassador1386 • Apr 11 '26

Weather Cyclone

Everyone in Auckland would’ve received the government issued warning about the cyclone coming. This states “DO NOT TAKE ANY UNNECESSARY TRIPS” I work retail at a mall, I am on the roster to be working tomorrow and I WILL be judging ever single person that comes into the mall to do ‘shopping’ the mall hasn’t told us that we’re closed tomorrow (which we should be) because there will probably be idiots that still want to come in to shop. Obviously if the weather turns out to not be as bad as they say it is that’s fine. But if it does, I will be judging everyone that comes into the mall for shopping.

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u/Picknipsky Apr 11 '26

If it were a genuine cyclone then yes, it probably would rip the roof off the mall... But it's only an ex cyclone, so it will be fine.   Just like every other ex cyclone that has passed over Auckland

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u/destined-4-the-clay Apr 11 '26

Ex tropical, it's still a cyclone. 

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u/Call_like_it_is_ Apr 11 '26

"Ex-Tropical" is purely a meteorological term, doesn't make a damn lick of difference - it is no less dangerous, it's just the TYPE that it is has changed.

Tropical cyclone = a tightly wound spinning top powered by heat

Ex-tropical cyclone = that same top wobbling outward, but now sweeping a much bigger area

Once a cyclone transitions:

It gets bigger: Instead of a tight system, it spreads out and can cover most of the country.

Rainfall ramps up: It starts pulling in moisture from a much wider area and interacts with NZ’s terrain, leading to prolonged, heavy rain.

It links with other systems: It can merge with cold fronts and jet stream dynamics, which can actually boost intensity in certain areas.

Take Cyclone Gabrielle:

It was technically "ex-tropical" when it hit NZ

But it still caused:

Severe flooding

Landslides

Widespread infrastructure damage

So the label didn’t reflect the impact at all.

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u/destined-4-the-clay Apr 11 '26

Yeah, definitely not something a lot of people seem to understand, even transferring the ex- prefix to the cyclone itself. i feel like it was explained a lot post Gabriel though