New Zealand Climate Update 191 - May 2015

5 May 2015

What happened in April, how our climate outlook for the previous three months turned out, global and local sea temperatures, and our outlook for May-July.

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New Zealand Climate Update, May 2015 [PDF 856 KB]

Current climate – April 2015

April 2015 was characterised by air pressures which were higher than normal to the northeast of New Zealand and south of Australia. This pressure pattern resulted in a weak north-westerly flow anomaly across the North Island and a weak south-easterly flow anomaly over the South Island.

Global setting – April 2015

Warming of the sea surface across the equatorial Pacific Ocean continued in April 2015, building upon the warmer than normal waters observed in previous months.

Outlook – May to July 2015

Temperatures are most likely to be average or above average for all regions of New Zealand, although cold snaps and frosts can be expected in some parts of the country as autumn advances into winter.

Retrospective – February to April 2015 Outlook

During February – April 2015, higher pressures than normal were forecast over and to the southeast of the country, and slightly lower than normal pressures were expected to the north of New Zealand. This atmospheric pressure pattern was expected to be associated with weak easterly flow anomalies.

NIWA

New Zealand Climate Update 191 - May 2015

Current climate – April 2015

Global setting – April 2015

Outlook – May to July 2015

Retrospective – February to April 2015 Outlook

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