Current Climate - November 2010
Anticyclones (‘highs’) dominated New Zealand’s climate during November 2010, producing record low November rainfall in many areas, and record November warmth for the South Island. This was the second month in a row in which rainfall has been extremely low for most regions, resulting in unusually dry soils for the time of year across northern and western regions of the North Island, and the northwest of the South Island. Severe soil moisture deficits (more than 130 mm of deficit) existed as at the end of the month in Northland, Auckland, parts of the Waikato, Nelson, the Lakes District and central Otago, with significant soil moisture deficits (more than 110 mm of deficit) elsewhere in the Waikato, Taupo, parts of the Manawatu and Gisborne, in Hawkes Bay and the Wairarapa, Marlborough, and parts of Canterbury.
Percentage of normal rainfall, November 2010.
End of month water balance in the pasture root zone for an average soil type, where the available water capacity is 150 mm.
Departure from average air temperature for November 2010.
Rainfall
November rainfall was less than half (50 percent) of November normal in all regions, except the eastern South Island (where near normal rainfalls occurred). Rainfall was around 25% (quarter) of normal in the Lakes District and northwest of the South Island, as well as in parts of Waikato and Northland. Record low rainfalls were experienced in many regions in the north and west of both islands.
Air temperature
Monthly mean temperatures for November as a whole were more than 2°C above average across the entire South Island, and many long-term November temperature records were broken there. It was also warmer than usual across most regions of the North Island, with temperatures between 0.5°C and 1.2°C above average. The exceptions were Northland, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay and coastal Wairarapa, where near average temperatures prevailed (within 0.5°C of average). An extremely hot (record breaking) spell occurred across the country on the 28th-30th, with numerous November extreme maximum temperature records broken in both islands. The New Zealand national average temperature was 14.7°C in November (1.0°C above the 1971–2000 November average).
Sunshine
The persistent highs during the month brought clear skies and a sunny month overall for most regions of the country. Sunshine totals were well above normal (more than 125 percent of November normal) in the lower half of the North Island, and several sites broke records there. Elsewhere, sunshine totals were also above normal (between 110 and 125 percent of November normal). The exceptions were Southland and Otago, which recorded near normal sunshine hours (between 90 and 110 percent of normal).
See our November 2010 climate summary
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