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Otago Daily Times
06-08-2025
- Climate
- Otago Daily Times
‘Particularly dry month' for much of South Island
Photo: ODT files Talk about a dry July. Earth Sciences New Zealand climate scientist Gregor Macara said high mean sea level pressure prevailed over much of the South Island during July, creating prolonged dry spells across much of Otago and Southland. Ranfurly had 26 days without rain (July 4-29); Clyde, Cromwell, Lauder, Middlemarch, Queenstown and Tapanui had 25 days (July 4-28); Oamaru had 18 days (July 12-29); and Alexandra and Dunedin had 17 days (July 12-28). And even when it did rain, very little fell, he said. "It was a particularly dry month for Southland, with five locations observing near-record low July rainfall totals. "This included Gore, where just 8mm of rain (14% of its July normal) was recorded. "This resulted in the town's second-driest July since records began in 1907. "Invercargill recorded 27mm of rain (37% of its July normal), making it the city's third-driest July since records began there in 1900." Lumsden (26mm) and Tiwai Point (22mm) also recorded their third-driest July, and Manapouri (21mm) had its fourth-lowest July rainfall. Temperatures were near average for most of the southern regions during July. However, new record mean air temperatures were recorded at Milford Sound (7.5°C), Puysegur Point (10.3°C) and South West Cape (10.1°C) and Nugget Point recorded its second-highest mean air temperature with 7.9°C during the month. From July 28-30, a warm northwesterly became established over the country, and dozens of locations observed record or near-record high daily maximum temperatures, he said. On July 28, the relatively high temperatures were centred over southern parts of New Zealand, with Milford Sound, Puysegur Point and South West Cape also setting record high daily maximum temperatures. "Milford Sound reached 19.3°C, exceeding its previous record of 17.6°C. "It was also notable that this temperature was recorded well after sunset — between 8pm and 9pm. "Daily maximum temperatures typically occur in the afternoon during daylight hours." Mr Macara said at the other end of the scale was Cromwell, where a persistent inversion layer and frequent low cloud contributed to daily maximum temperatures that were lower than average, and daily minimum temperatures that were higher than average. "Cromwell received 67 hours of sunshine for July (62% of normal), making it the lowest sunshine total for July since the town's records began in 1979." Mr Macara said the weather records were associated with more northeasterly winds than normal for the country. "Enso-neutral conditions remained present in the tropical Pacific, but trended towards La Nina-like conditions during the month. "Sea surface temperatures around New Zealand were above average, particularly off the west coast of the country, with marine heatwave conditions experienced in these areas." He said the mild start to winter for most of the country in June continued through July. "The nationwide average temperature in July was 9.2°C, making it New Zealand's fourth-warmest July since Earth Sciences New Zealand's seven-station temperature series began in 1909."
Scoop
04-07-2025
- Climate
- Scoop
Mild Start To Winter, Wetter Than Usual – Earth Sciences NZ Releases Latest June 2025 Climate Summary
Winter began on a mild and soggy note across much of New Zealand, according to Earth Sciences New Zealand's (formerly NIWA) latest monthly climate summary for June 2025. Temperatures were above or well above average for most of the country, especially across the North Island, Tasman, Otago, eastern Southland, and Fiordland, says Earth Sciences New Zealand climate scientist Gregor Macara. "The nationwide average temperature of 9.4°C was 0.7°C above the June normal, making it the 16th-warmest June on record since 1909." Rainfall was well above normal in many regions including Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Taranaki, Wellington, and much of the South Island. In contrast, dry conditions persisted in northern Northland, eastern Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, and Wairarapa. Soil moisture levels reflected the rainfall pattern, says Macara. "Drier-than-normal soils remained in Hawke's Bay, while soils were wetter than normal across much of eastern South Island, from Marlborough to Dunedin." The highest temperature in June was 23.2°C at Whakatu in the Hawke's Bay, while Aoraki Mt Cook Airport recorded the lowest temperature of -12.9°C. Milford Sound took the title for the highest one-day rainfall in June with 151 mm on 25 June (that's more than halfway up a Redband gumboot), while another regular in climate summaries, east coast headland Cape Turnagain, between Hawke's Bay and Cook Strait, recorded the strongest wind gust at 191 km/h on the 1st of June. Among the main centres, Auckland was the warmest, Tauranga the wettest and sunniest, Christchurch the coolest and driest, and Dunedin the least sunny. The sunniest four locations in 2025 so far are Taranaki, Bay of Plenty, Auckland, and wider Nelson. On 1 July, GNS and NIWA merged to become Earth Sciences New Zealand. More detailed information for regions, cities and monitoring stations is available at
NZ Herald
07-05-2025
- Climate
- NZ Herald
April one of Northland's wettest on record
New Zealand's driest location compared to normal was Wairoa, which received 47 mm of rain during April (36% of its April normal). Kerikeri also recorded its wettest April on record, with 519mm - three and a half times its normal for the month - its highest since records began there in 1935. Whangārei had its wettest April on record too, with 403mm - almost four time the normal - and the highest in April since records began there in 1937. Dargaville recorded 218mm - more than double the norm - its second highest April rainfall on record since 1943. Kaitāia also recorded its highest one-day rainfall total for April: 132mm on April 3. Kerikeri recorded its third-highest April one-day rainfall of 123mm the same day. Macara said April 2025 was characterised by lower-than-normal mean sea level pressure (MSLP) to the northwest of the country and higher-than-normal MSLP to the east of the country. ''This produced more northeasterly airflows than normal, bringing sustained warm temperatures and several heavy rain events over the course of the month. This included the arrival of ex-tropical cyclone Tam around mid-April, which caused flooding, power outages and coastal erosion for parts of Northland, Auckland, Coromandel and the Bay of Plenty. From April 3 3 to 4, an atmospheric river contributed to heavy rainfall and surface flooding for western and northern parts of the South Island, and northern parts of the North Island. Areas of surface flooding and power cuts were reported in Northland. Roads affected by surface flooding and debris included Diggers Valley Rd in Herekino, and Ōruru, Peria, Kenana, Omaunu and Kohumaru roads. From April 16, ex-tropical cyclone Tam travelled south and impacted much of New Zealand over the following days. The system was associated with a combination of strong winds, periods of heavy rain, and storm surges causing coastal erosion, with the greatest impacts observed in Northland, Auckland, the Bay of Plenty, and Coromandel. The storm brought down trees, flooded roads across Northland and left thousands without power. The highest wind gust for the month was 156km/h at Cape Reinga on April 17. On April 27, SH1 through Mangamuka Gorge was closed due to a slip. It reopened the next day, but was closed again on April 29 by another slip, which took two days to clear. The month also contained some unseasonably warm weather across Northland, Kaitāia and Whangārei having their second-highest April mean air temperature ever of 19.1C and 18.5C respectively.
Otago Daily Times
06-05-2025
- Climate
- Otago Daily Times
‘Exceptional warmth': temperature records tumble in April
Temperature records were toppled left, right and centre across the southern regions during April, giving locals a welcome extension to summer. Niwa climate scientist Gregor Macara, of Lauder, said several periods of ''exceptional warmth'' resulted in summer-like temperatures in many areas, and dozens of locations had record or near-record-high daily maximum temperatures for the month. He said April was characterised by lower-than-normal mean sea level pressure (MSLP) to the northwest of New Zealand, and higher-than-normal MSLP to the east of the country. ''This produced more northeasterly airflows than normal, bringing sustained warm temperatures and several heavy rain events over the course of the month - including the arrival of ex-Tropical Cyclone Tam, in mid-April.'' Among the 72 locations that had record or near record-high April mean temperatures were Franz Josef (14.0°C), Waipounamu (11.4°C) and Nugget Point (12.4°C), which had their second-highest April mean temperatures; and Oamaru (13.0°C), Dunedin (Musselburgh) (13.5°C) and Queenstown (12.8°C), which had their third-highest. Of the six main centres, Dunedin recorded 160 hours of sunshine in April - the most sunshine hours in the country. While it was not Dunedin's driest April on record, the city only received 48mm of rain in the month - 79% of its normal April rainfall. It meant Dunedin was the driest and sunniest of the six main centres, Auckland was the warmest, Christchurch was the coolest and Tauranga was the wettest and least sunny. The sunniest four regions so far in 2025 are Taranaki (1075 hours), Bay of Plenty (996 hours), Auckland (990 hours) and Central Otago (987 hours). Mr Macara said the highest April temperature was 29.7°C, at Orari, on April 4. But early in April, many southern records were broken when a warm northeasterly airflow covered the country on April 3, notably on Stewart Island where the temperature reached 25.9°C. ''This was the highest April temperature observed at this location, exceeding the previous record by a remarkable 4.3°C.'' On April 4, unusually high temperatures were also recorded in the South under a northwesterly airflow. ''Most notably, Dunedin (Musselburgh) reached 29.5°C - this was the city's highest April temperature since records began in 1947.'' Middlemarch (28.0°C) and Nugget Point (25.0°C) also had their highest April temperatures on record, and Alexandra (28.4°C) had its equal-highest April temperature since records began in 1928. Oamaru (27.3°C), Waipounamu (24.5°C), Cromwell (27.2°C) and Clyde (28.6°C) recorded their second-highest April temperatures. Mr Macara said the nationwide average temperature in April was 15.2°C, making it New Zealand's fifth-warmest April on record. Rainfall was above normal or well above normal for much of the country, including Central Otago; and below normal or well below normal in Dunedin, South Otago and southeastern Southland. By the end of April, soil moisture levels were below normal for South Otago and Invercargill.
