Science Centres: Climate
July
June's climate
Global setting & climate outlook
Feature article
Climate Explorer
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climate-explorer.niwa.co.nz
Advance warning of cold conditions
Parts of New Zealand have experienced near record low air temperatures in the past month. For example, Tara Hills, near Omarama, recorded a minimum temperature of -14 °C on 14 June, the lowest overnight temperature since records began in 1950.
A monthly newsletter from the National Climate Centre.
July 2006 – Number 85
June – severe winter snowstorms hit Canterbury and the central North Island, contributing to the coldest June since 1972. Above normal rain and high river and stream flows in eastern regions.
Outlook for July to September – near normal atmospheric circulation over New Zealand with average or above average temperatures overall.
New Zealand climate in June 2006
Rainfall (click to enlarge).
Temperature (click to enlarge).
June 2006 was the coldest June since 1972, with much of the country recording temperatures of more than 2.0 °C below average. Snow fell to depths of 15-90 cm in Canterbury, and also closed roads in the North Island. There were more frosts than usual across much of the country.
Precipitation was about 200% of normal in South Canterbury, but about half normal in much of Bay of Plenty.
Global setting and climate outlook
Sea surface temperatures around New Zealand
New Zealand SST (click to enlarge).
In June, surface temperature anomalies in the New Zealand region dropped back to near their April values, averaging +0.3 °C in June (+0.8 °C in May), with an April to June average of +0.5 °C. Surface temperatures immediately to the east of the South Island have fallen, and the largest positive anomalies now lie just east of the Chatham Islands.
