Seasonal

Seasonal climate summaries from summer 2001 to the present.

Seasonal climate summaries from summer 2001 to the present.

Issues

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    Winter 2006

    Winter 2006: Wild in the lower North Island, exceptional snowstorms in the east of the South Island, but quite benign in the north of both islands.
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    Autumn 2006

    Rainfall: Extremely high in Northland, Auckland, and Bay of Plenty; extremely low in Central Otago
    Temperature: Near average throughout much of New Zealand
    Sunshine: Sunny in Southland
    Autumn rainfall was extremely high in Northland, Auckland, and Waikato, and parts of Bay of Plenty, and extremely low in parts of Central Otago. Seasonal mean temperatures were above average in Auckland, Coromandel, western Bay of Plenty, Nelson, Golden Bay, and parts of Waikato, and below average in parts of South Canterbury, and North Otago.
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    Summer 2005-06

    Rainfall: Extremely high in Bay of Plenty and Taupo; normal or below normal in many other regions
    Soil moisture: Early significant deficits in eastern areas of the country, spreading to some other parts of North Island later
    Temperature: Above average overall with very hot conditions in central Otago on a few days
    Sunshine: Sunny in Wellington, Westland, and coastal areas of Otago and Southland
    Summer rainfall was extremely high in parts of Bay of Plenty and Taupo.
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    Spring 2005

    Rainfall: Extremely low in Kapiti, Wellington, Nelson, and Otago; rather wet in Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay
    Soil moisture: Significant deficits in the east from southern Wairarapa to Otago, as well as Kapiti, Wellington, and Nelson
    Sunshine: Extremely sunny in the west from Taranaki to Westland, as well as Wellington, Nelson and Southland
    Temperature: Above average in many western regions
    Spring was extremely sunny in the west, with contrasting rainfall patterns across New Zealand.
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    Winter 2005

    Monday, 5 September 2005
    One of the warmest, very dry in parts, sunny and a relatively settled winter
    Rainfall: Extremely low in the east from Wairarapa to Otago, including Wellington
    Soil moisture: Moderate deficits in parts of south Canterbury and north Otago
    Temperature: Above average throughout much of the South Island and the north and west of the North Island; near average elsewhere
    Sunshine: Rather sunny in the far north and south
    Winter was warmer, drier, rather settled, and sunny in many regions.
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    Autumn 2005

    Wednesday, 8 June 2005
    A season of regional contrasts
    Sunshine: Record high sunshine in the north of the North Island, above average over much of the South Island
    Rainfall: Record rainfall in parts of the Bay of Plenty, above average in Hawke’s Bay and Wairarapa; well below average in Northland
    Soil moisture: Severe deficits throughout Northland during early and mid autumn
    Temperature: Above average in the north of the North Island, below average in south Canterbury and north Otago
    Autumn was a season of regional contrasts.
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    Summer 2004-05

    Sunday, 6 March 2005
    Temperature swings: A very cold December and a very warm February
    Soil Moisture: Severe or significant deficits throughout much of the North Island, and the north and east of the South Island during mid and late summer
    Rainfall: Well above average rainfall in southern Wairarapa and the east from mid Canterbury to Southland; below average rainfall in eastern Bay of Plenty
    Sunshine: above average in the east of the North Island
    Temperature extremes by day and by month were features of the 2004-05 summer which turned out to be 0.3°C below normal over the three month per
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    Spring 2004

    Monday, 6 December 2004 Rainfall: Below average in Northland, and from Kaikoura to north Canterbury, but wet in parts of Otago Soil Moisture: Significant deficits persisted in coastal Marlborough, and are showing up in Hawke’s Bay, Canterbury and areas of North and Central Otago Temperature: Close to average overall, a cool start followed by a mild end Sunshine: Above average in most eastern regions; but a lack of sunshine in the west For many, spring began with cold southwesterlies, was followed by average temperatures in October and concluded with a mild, although windy November.
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    Winter 2004

    Sunday, 12 September 2004
    Temperature: A very warm start, followed by colder months of July and August
    Sunshine: Extremely sunny in the north and west of the North Island and sunnier than normal in the south and east of the South Island
    Rainfall: Above average in Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, and Fiordland; below average in Northland and the Kaikoura Coast
    For many, winter began with a very mild June, followed by a colder frosty July and then a cold August.
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    Autumn 2004

    Wednesday, 9 June 2004
    Temperatures: Below average in many regions
    Rainfall: Below average in the far north, the south and west of the North Island, Marlborough, and Fiordland; above average in coastal Southland
    Sunshine: Sunny in the North Island and the east of the South Island
    Autumn’s climate was cooler than usual, especially in the west of the North Island from Northland to King Country, with average or below average rainfall over much of the country. However, rainfall was above average along the Southland coast. Soil moisture levels were lower than normal in Central Otago.
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    Summer 2003-04

    Tuesday, 9 March 2004
    A season of contrasts: Severe soil moisture deficits in January; floods in February
    Rainfall: Record high totals in many western North Island locations
    Temperatures: A warm January but cool February
    Sunshine: Record low totals in many western North Island regions, but sunny in Otago and Southland
    The summer of 2003/04 was a season of extremes.
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    Spring 2003

    Saturday, 6 December 2003
    Rainfall: Above normal rainfall over much of the North Island and in coastal Marlborough and Canterbury
    Temperatures: Below average in the southern half of the South Island, near average elsewhere
    Sunshine: Above average in King Country and Canterbury
    The spring of 2003 was wetter than usual over much of the North Island and the east of the South Island. Temperatures were near normal in the North Island and northern half of the South Island, but colder than normal in the southern half of the South Island. It was sunnier than average in King Country and Canterbury.
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    Winter 2003

    Tuesday, 9 September 2003
    Rainfall: Generally drier than normal, with well below average rainfall in Bay of Plenty and the eastern South Island; above average in Fiordland
    Temperatures: Above average in most regions; 10th equal warmest winter on record
    Sunshine: Well above average in Wellington and coastal Otago
    The winter of 2003 was warmer and drier than usual. It was much warmer than normal in inland sheltered areas of Canterbury and Otago. This was, in part, mainly due to an extremely warm June, in fact the warmest on record for New Zealand overall.
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    Autumn 2003

    Wednesday, 18 June 2003
    Rainfall: well below average in Horowhenua, Kapiti, Wellington, central Marlborough and Otago; above average in Northland
    Soil moisture: significant deficits for much of the autumn in the southwest of the North Island and the north and east of the South Island
    Sunshine: extremely sunny in Kapiti, Wellington, Westland, and coastal Otago
    Temperatures: above average in the North Island, and the north and west of the South Island
    Below average rainfall was a major feature of the autumn for many regions, especially Horowhenua, Kapiti, Wellington, central Marlborough and O
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    Summer 2002-03

    Thursday, 6 March 2003
    Sunny with significant soil-moisture deficits in many regions
    Average or below average rainfall in most regions
    Above average rainfall in some northeastern parts of the North Island
    Coolest summer overall since 1996/97
    Summer commenced with a windier than normal December, followed by generally sunny, but cooler and much drier than average conditions during January and February. Significant soil-moisture deficits occurred throughout the summer in much of the eastern South Island, spreading to much of the North Island from January onwards.
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    Spring 2002

    Friday, 6 December 2002
    Windy: warmer at first, then very cold
    Significant soil moisture deficits in parts of New Zealand by the end of November
    Sunny in many northern and eastern regions
    Rainfall well below average in Bay of Plenty
    Wet and unsettled in the southwest of the South Island
    Many extreme events
    Spring commenced with a windier and warmer than normal September. However, along with the wind, very cold conditions for the time of year predominated for the rest of the season.
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    Winter 2002

    Friday 6 September 2002
    Unusually mild in the North Island and northern South Island
    Above average rainfall in the central and eastern North Island and the south and west of the South Island
    Below average rainfall in the northeast of the South Island
    Less sunshine in many western and central North Island areas
    The winter of 2002 was the 5th consecutive warmer than normal winter for New Zealand, in spite of the icy southerlies and snow blasts that occurred to sea level in Canterbury in June and reached the Volcanic Plateau and regions of the South Island in August.
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    Autumn 2002

    Wednesday 5 June 2002
    Sunny with below average rainfall in many areas, especially in the east
    Above average rainfall in parts of Buller and Southland
    Warm in Auckland, Waikato, Buller, Nelson and Central Otago
    Autumn was sunny with below average rainfall in many regions. It was very dry, with less than 50 percent (half) of normal autumn rainfall in Gisborne, central Hawke’s Bay, central Marlborough, the Kaikoura coast and parts of Central Otago. Many areas in these eastern regions experienced one of their driest autumns on record.
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    Summer 2001-02

    Monday, 4 March 2002
    Extremely wet in the south and west of the North Island and eastern regions from Gisborne to Canterbury
    Below average rainfall in some southern South Island areas
    Very warm on the West Coast of the South Island; Cool in many eastern regions
    Very cloudy in Wellington and Canterbury
    Many North Island and most eastern districts received at least one and a half times their normal summer rainfall, and experienced one of the wettest and most unsettled summers on record.
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    Spring 2001

    Sunday 16 December 2001
    A spring of extremes
    5th warmest spring overall
    Extremely wet in eastern Bay Of Plenty, Marlborough and Nelson
    The spring of 2001 was one of the warmest on record, being the fifth warmest since reliable measurements began in the 1850s. It was a season of extremes, beginning with rather settled weather in September.
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    Winter 2001

    Wednesday 5 September 2001
    Below average rainfall in many regions, especially western Bay Of Plenty
    Mixed temperatures, extremes of warmth and cold
    Very sunny in Taranaki, Nelson and Westland
    Mixed climatic conditions in winter resulted in a variety of extremes and contrasts.
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    Autumn 2001

    Wednesday 13 June 2000
    An autumn of extremes
    Record low rainfall in Wellington and the east of the South Island
    Very wet in Northland, Coromandel and Bay Of Plenty
    Extremely sunny in central New Zealand
    Warm in many areas
    A fresh New Zealand record low 3–month rainfall total at Cape Campbell, coastal Marlborough, and an all time high rainfall for a non-alpine area, Leigh, in Northland, highlighted an autumn of climate extremes.
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    Summer 2000-01

    Tuesday, 7 March 2001
    Another summer of extremes
    Extremely dry in central New Zealand, wet in Bay Of Plenty
    Cool in the south, warm in Aucklnad, Bay Of Plenty and central New Zealand
    Nelson sets new New Zealand summer sunshine record
    A 2000/2001 summer of climate extremes including droughts, floods and high humidity produced in Nelson a new seasonal sunshine record of 878 hours, 20 percent above normal and a new high for any New Zealand locality since such records began in 1930. Sunshine totals in Marlborough, Buller and north Canterbury were also at least 10 percent above normal.