Science Centres: Climate
February
January's climate
Global setting and climate outlook
Feature article
Accessing NIWA's climate data and products - one-day training course
Example of climate data
Making the most of the National Climate Database and its tools to understand and visualise climate data
Access to NIWA’s National Climate Database was made free in July 2007. In that month the number of rows of data extracted from the database quadrupled.
NIWA is now offering a ‘Familiarisation Course’ to explain how these data are measured, collected, and quality checked, and how the myriad types of data can be extracted from the database.
A monthly newsletter from the National Climate Centre.
February 2008 – Number 104
January climate – high temperatures and below normal rainfall in most places. Low river and stream flows almost everywhere.
Outlook for February to April – air temperatures are likely to be above average across the country. Rainfall is expected to be normal over the North Island and the north of the South Island, and below normal elsewhere. Normal or below normal soil moisture and river flows are likely in the North Island and the top of the South Island.
New Zealand climate in January
Rainfall (click to enlarge).
Temperature (click to enlarge).
January was an unusually warm month, with temperatures 2 °C or more above average in Waikato, King Country, Nelson, and in inland South Island. The national average temperature of 18.3 °C was 1.3 °C above the historical normal.
Extremely low rainfall occurred in many areas, with totals of less than 10 mm recorded in the Hauraki Plains, Waikato, King Country, coastal Marlborough and parts of north Canterbury.
Global setting and climate outlook
La Niña likely to remain until autumn
Difference from average global SST (click to enlarge).
Monthly SOI values (click to enlarge).
A moderate to strong La Niña episode is in progress across the entire equatorial and tropical Pacific, and is very likely to persist through autumn 2008.
