Annual

A year of weather extremes across New Zealand

The year 2016: New Zealand’s warmest on record

Near normal rainfall and near average temperatures for most of the country.

Third-warmest year on record for New Zealand.

Slightly cooler than average for most areas .

The year 2011 will be remembered as one of extremes.

New Zealand’s climate for 2009 was characterised by frequent see-saws in temperature.

sunny and warm, but a rollercoaster year for extremes.

Much drier than average in many places, but disastrous floods in Northland. Drought, destructive tornadoes, windstorms, variable temperatures.

Severe winter snowstorms; floods, wind storms, destructive tornadoes; variable temperatures, yet sunny overall.

Much warmer, with more anticyclones and less wind than normal; very low rainfall in the South Island; catastrophic floods and extremely high rainfall in Bay of Plenty; destructive tornadoes; an unseasonable late snowstorm.

Very stormy at times; devastating floods and extremely high rainfall in several North Island regions; high winds and late winter blizzards; very wet in some areas and cool.

Many extreme events; record low rainfall and cool in parts of Otago; wet in Coromandel; record sunshine in the South Island and in the lower North Island.

Numerous extreme events and El Niño returns; low rainfall in Bay of Plenty; Marlborough and Nelson cool inland; mild in Waikato and the northern South Island; average or above average sunshine.

Extremely low annual rainfall in the eastern South Island and parts of the lower North Island, despite wet end-of-year conditions; severe summer–autumn drought, mid-winter freeze; many other extreme events.

A sunny and slightly warmer than normal year; very wet in Canterbury and Otago; more anticyclones but many extreme events.