Climate

New Zealand Climate

February

February 2005 was one of the warmest on record. The first 10 days of February were very hot, with maximum temperatures of 30 °C or more in many locations throughout New Zealand, and temperatures of 35 °C or more in sheltered inland areas of the South Island.

For the month, the national average temperature of 18.6 °C was 1.3 °C above normal, and the 8th highest February temperature since reliable measurements started in the mid 1860s.

Rainfall was below average over much of the North Island, especially parts of Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa, inland and eastern Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, and Manawatu. The south and southeast of the South Island were wetter than normal.

For more information on the climate in February, visit the climate summaries page at www.niwa.co.nz/ncc/cs/mclimsum_05_02

 

Percentage of average rainfall for February 2005 (recording sites shown with dots). Click to enlarge.

Difference from normal surface water temperatures in the seas around New Zealand. The New Zealand average sea surface temperature rose in February to about 0.7 °C above the historical mean, from 0.7 °C below the mean in January and 1.0 °C below in December.