Monthly

October 2008: Sunny in the South Island, dry in east and north
Temperature: Near average for most of the country, but below average in western South Island.
Rainfall: Below normal in Northland, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, Wellington and most of the South Island especially south Canterbury and Otago; above normal in Waikato, King Country and Manawatu.
Sunshine: Very sunny in the South Island, especially in inland and southern parts, and near average for other areas.
Sunshine totals were well above average for most of the South Island, with Dunedin and Balclutha recording their highes

September 2008: Mild start to spring
Temperature: Above average for most of the country, especially in South Canterbury, and Central Otago.
Rainfall: Low in Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel, and all of the east coast of the North Island; high in Wellington, Nelson, and Central Otago.
Sunshine: Above average for much of the North Island (with the exception of Kapiti and Wellington), North Canterbury, and South Otago.
September temperatures were well above average (more than 1.5°C above their normal values) in South Canterbury and Central Otago.

August 2008: Another very wet and stormy month (July 2008 was also very wet in many places) for most of the country
Temperature: Near average (plus or minus 0.5°C) for the North Island; below average for the South Island, particularly inland Canterbury and coastal North Otago (1 to 2°C below average).
Rainfall: Well above normal rainfall (more than 150% of normal) in Marlborough (especially Kaikoura), Canterbury, Tasman, eastern Southland and the majority of the North Island; below normal rainfall (less than 80% or normal) in Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, parts of the Southern Alps, Central

July 2008: Very wet and dull for most of country especially Marlborough, Canterbury and eastern Otago; Temperatures generally near or slightly above average
Temperature: Near or slightly above average for most of the country;
Rainfall: Well above normal rainfall (more than 200% of normal) in Marlborough, Canterbury, and eastern Otago; above normal (around 150% or more of normal) in Westland, Tasman, and the majority of the North Island;
Sunshine: Below normal hours of bright sunshine recorded for most of country.
July was slightly warmer than average overall, and only slightly cooler than Ju

June 2008: Warm in most places especially south of South Island; Wet in Waikato and North Canterbury and dry in Marlborough and Otago
Temperature: Warm overall; inland South Canterbury and Otago more than 1.5 °C above average;
Rainfall: Below normal rainfall (around 50% of normal) in north of South Island and Otago; above normal (around 150% or more of normal) in North Canterbury, inland Manawatu, the Central Plateau and Waikato;
Sunshine: Above normal hours of bright sunshine recorded for most of country.
June, in contrast to May, was much warmer than average in places especially inlan

May 2008: Cold; Record dry and calm in the west and over much of the South Island; Wet in the east of the North Island
Temperature: Cold overall; Very cold in inland areas of both islands especially at night;
Rainfall: Record low rainfall in Kapiti, Nelson and Marlborough and the Tekapo basin; double average in Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay;
Sunshine: Very sunny in the west of both islands; below average in Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay
May was a cold month, with the national average temperature of 9.6°C being 1.1°C below average.

April 2008 Extremes: deluges in the north, but dry in the south
Rainfall: Record high rainfall in Bay of Plenty/Taupo, double average in parts of Northland, Wellington, Nelson and Marlborough, below average over the southern half of South Island
Soil moisture: Significant deficits remain in inland Otago and eastern Canterbury
Temperature: Above average in the west of the North Island, below average in inland Canterbury and Otago
Sunshine: Above average in the west and south of the South Island, below average in Auckland and Waikato
April was a month of extremes with floods in northern New Ze

March 2008 another month of summer & drought
Temperature: Above average especially Waikato, King Country, central and south west North Island
Soil moisture: Significant deficits in the west of the North Island from Auckland to Manawatu, Wairarapa and Marlborough until end of the month
Rainfall: Low in Auckland, Waikato, Canterbury and Fiordland
Sunshine: Above average especially from Taranaki to Wellington, Marlborough and southern New Zealand
March was another month of summer and records.
March 2008 was warmer than December 2007, with temperatures well above average everywhere.

February 2008: A Northland flood, but generally a very dry North Island
Rainfall: Very wet in Northland, and north and central Canterbury; dry over the remainder of the North Island
Soil moisture:  Significant deficits in many North Island areas, Marlborough, and the southeast of the South Island
Temperature: Above average in western areas, especially South Island southwest
Sunshine: Extremely high in the south, and also the southwest of the North Island.
February was a month of contrasts.
Rainfall was 50% (half) or less of normal over much of the North Island from Manukau southwards, a

January 2008: heat waves & drought
Rainfall: Extremely low in northern areas from Auckland south, Wairarapa, and the coastal northeast of the South Island
Temperature: Above average especially Waikato, King Country, Nelson and inland South Island
Sunshine: Extremely high in the south; well below average in Northland
Soil moisture:  Severe deficits in many North Island areas and the east of the South Island
January was a month of records.
Heat wave conditions occurred across inland areas of the South Island, and even extended to coastal parts of Canterbury and central Marlborough, fo

Warm in many regions; severe soil moisture deficits persist in the east and inland areas of the South Island
Rainfall: Below normal rainfall in Bay of Plenty, south west of North Island and inland areas of the South Island, very wet start to December in Northland
Temperature: Above average in the north and west
Sunshine: Well above average in the south, well below average in the north
December 2007 was characterised by near or below normal rainfall in many regions of New Zealand.

Sunny with low rainfall - severe soil moisture deficits in Marlborough and Central Otago – hot spell in the north and east
Rainfall: Well below normal in many regions, especially Marlborough, Nelson, and Otago
Temperature: Near average, apart from high temperatures in the north and east between the 20th and 26th
Sunshine: Above normal in many regions
November 2007 was extremely dry in many regions, especially in the South Island, with totals of less than 10 mm throughout much of Nelson, Marlborough, and central Otago.

Stormy and generally cold with frequent spring gales
Wind: Much more wind than normal, with frequent gales from the westerly sector
Temperature: Well below average in the South Island and parts of the North Island, above average in Hawke’s Bay and parts of the north
Rainfall: Above normal in many regions, especially in the South Island.
Sunshine: Near or above normal in most regions
October 2007 was rather stormy and generally cold with deep depressions tracking south of New Zealand and frequent westerly gales.

Rainfall: Below normal in many areas, near or above normal in the parts of Northland, east of the North Island, parts of Otago and Fiordland.
Temperature: Above average in the north of the North Island, and parts of the South Island.
Sunshine: Above average in the south west of the North Island, western and inland
Wind: Less wind than normal
September 2007 was a relatively benign month with more anticyclones and less wind than normal, and less extremes. This resulted in less rainfall than normal in many areas, especially the west of the North Island.

Rainfall: Below normal in the north and east of the South Island, near or above normal in regions exposed to the west
Temperature: Above average in the North Island, near average elsewhere
Sunshine: Well above average in Wellington, Nelson, and inland South Canterbury
Wind: More southwesterlies than normal; northwest gales during the second week
August 2007 was a month which was windy at times with frequent disturbed southwesterlies, especially to the east, resulting in low rainfall in sheltered northern and eastern South Island regions, and normal or above normal rainfall in several other r

A month of extremes and contrasts – severe floods; numerous damaging tornadoes and destructive winds in the north; ice and severe frost in the south
Temperature: Below average in the lower South Island; above average throughout much of the North Island
Rainfall: Well above normal in the north and east of the North Island, and coastal South Canterbury and Otago; below normal in the north and west of the South Island
Sunshine: Above average in the west and south of the South Island; below average in the east of the North Island
Wind: Easterly gales in the north, but quieter in the south

Cold and wintry in the south, warmer in the north, sunny
Temperature: Below average over much of the South Island, warmer in the north of the North Island
Rainfall: Below normal in the northeast of the South Island, above normal in the south of the South Island
Sunshine: Above average in many regions
Wind: Rather windy at times over the south with strong westerlies and south westerlies
June 2007 was a wintry month in the South Island, especially in the south, with frequent bitterly cold southwesterlies, producing snowfall to low levels in Southland and Otago (as well as South Island high cou

Warmest May on record
Indian summer in many parts of New Zealand; flooding in Nelson and Taranaki
Rainfall: Record low rainfall in the north and east, well above normal in Nelson
Soil moisture: Significant deficits in the east of the North Island, as well as Otago
Temperature: New Zealand’s warmest May in over 140 years of temperature measurements
Sunshine: Above average in many regions, especially in the east
May 2007 produced a truly Indian Summer [1] for much of New Zealand with record temperatures for the month and the driest May on record in the north and east.

Rainfall: Below normal in most regions
Soil moisture: Significant deficits persist in Hawke’s Bay, central Marlborough and Central Otago
Temperature: Below normal over much of the North Island
Sunshine: Above average in many areas
April was a relatively dry month overall, especially over the North Island and the north and west of the South Island. It was an autumn like month, with anticyclones to the west and winds from the southerly sector producing cooler than normal conditions for many and plentiful sunshine with the dryness.

Rainfall: Extremely wet in Northland at the end of the month, with devastating floods; below normal in the east
Soil moisture: Severe deficits in eastern regions from Gisborne to Marlborough, as well as Central Otago
Temperature: Above average in most regions, especially Canterbury and Otago
Sunshine: Above average in the east
Historical daily rainfall records were swept aside in eastern parts of Northland as exceptionally high rainfall rates produced widespread flooding and extensive infrastructure damage.

Rainfall: Well below normal in most regions, flood producing rainfall in Northland
Soil moisture: Severe deficits in eastern regions from Gisborne to Otago, as well as Auckland, Waikato, Eastern Bay of Plenty, Wanganui, Manawatu, Wellington, and Nelson
Temperature: Above average in western and inland South Island regions, below average in many northern and eastern regions
Sunshine: Extremely sunny in the west of the South Island
February was very dry with 50 percent (half) or less of normal rainfall in many regions of New Zealand.

Rainfall: Below normal in many regions, areas of above normal rainfall in Northland, Bay of Plenty, Taupo, near East Cape, Wellington, and Nelson Soil moisture: Severe deficits in Auckland, Nelson, eastern regions from Gisborne to Marlborough, and Central Otago Temperature: Above average in the east of the North Island and on the South Island’s West Coast; below average in the east of the South Island Sunshine: Below normal in many regions, sunny in Southland
January was generally cloudy with low rainfall over much of New Zealand, and east-west temperature contrasts. Rainfall was below

Rainfall: Well below normal in the north of both islands; above normal in the east, especially Canterbury
Wind: More frequent cold southerlies
Temperature: One of the coldest Decembers in the last sixty years
Sunshine: Sunnier than normal in the north of both islands
December was unusually cool for the time of year, due to more frequent southerly winds. Temperatures were 2 to 3 °C below normal (making it coldest start to December for many years) throughout New Zealand during the first half of the month, with little change during the last two weeks.

Rainfall: Rather dry in eastern Northland and Gisborne; well above normal in the southwest of the North Island, and much of the South Island
Severe soil moisture deficits in Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay, significant deficits in other northern and eastern regions
Wind: Stormy westerlies over the South Island – especially mid-month
Temperature: Very warm in the east of the North Island, cold in the southwest of the South Island
Sunshine: Sunny in Gisborne, very cloudy in the west of the North Island
November was a month of much larger than normal contrasts in climate from west to east