It really wasn't 'havoc' for us, but the overnight storm did bring down a few trees, it turned the usually gentle stream into a raging torrent, and it caused the closure of a couple of schools for the day (because teachers who live in other areas weren't all able to get here). There was greater havoc in other parts of the Wellington region, particularly in the Hutt Valley and Wainuiomata whose traffic access was virtually (or completely) cut off. The other thing is that the trains weren't operating for much of the day, which meant that commuters from Tawa either took to the roads or didn't get at all.

The overnight storm (Sunday-Monday) was the worst in a long, long time, adding to the generally 'miserable' weather we've experienced this month. The newspaper reports: "Parts of the Wellington region [including Tawa apparently] had the wettest January on record, some areas receiving three times their average rainfall ... February looks set to go the same way. Halfway through the month, Wellington has had 168 millimetres (6-7 inches) of rain, more than double its February monthly average of 62mm (2-3 inches) ... February is usually the most settled month." And it is generally regarded as the warmest month of the year, the last month of summer. That certainly hasn't been the case this time around!