Disaster averted as wind machines kick in (NZ)

Wind machines were working in the Waihopai Valley on Sunday night, as the temperature dropped to almost zero. Stu Powell of Climate Consulting said in some areas temperatures were the coldest recorded for January for many years, reports The Marlborough Express. If frosts had struck, the cold would have stripped vines of their leaves, leaving bare canes unable to push sugar into grapes. That would have been a major disaster for the wine industry, Mr Powell said. “It would be like kicking a power point out of the wall. Everything stops.”