Climate Summary for September 2013

Very wet in parts of many regions, but dry in south Canterbury and Central Otago. A warm month for the North Island.

Rainfall	Patchy rainfall anomalies observed throughout the country, with well above normal rainfall for September (more than 150 percent of normal) observed in parts of Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Manawatu, Wellington, Marlborough, inland Canterbury, and Fiordland. In contrast, below normal rainfall (50-80 percent of September normal) was observed in south Canterbury and Central Otago. Near or above normal rainfall elsewhere.
Temperature	Well above average temperatures (more than 1.2°C above September average) in Hawke’s Bay and inland Gisborne. Above average temperatures (0.5-1.2°C above September average) for most of the North Island, except for the Far North, Wellington, and western Waikato – near average temperatures there (within 0.5°C of September average). Most of the South Island recorded near average September temperatures, except for Nelson and Blenheim (above average) and Dunedin and parts of Central Otago (below average; 0.5-1.2°C below September average).
Sunshine	A very sunny month for Westland (well above normal sunshine totals, more than 125% of September normal). In contrast, below normal sunshine (75-90 percent of September normal) was experienced in Northland, parts of Wellington, Wairarapa, South Canterbury, North Otago, and Dunedin . Near normal sunshine hours elsewhere.
Soil moisture	As at 1 October 2013, most soils around the country were at normal soil moisture levels for the time of year. In Hawke’s Bay, and around Gisborne, Kaikoura, and Blenheim, soils were wetter than normal for the time of year.

Overview

September 2013 was characterised by much lower pressures than normal around much of the New Zealand region, except for an area of higher pressures than normal to the east of the North Island, and another area of high pressure well to the south of the country. This pressure pattern caused more west to southwest flows across New Zealand. These unstable flows caused numerous storms and fronts to affect the country in September, including a severe wind storm in Canterbury early in the month.

Patchy rainfall anomalies were observed throughout the country in September, with well above normal rainfall for the time of year (more than 150 percent of September normal) observed in parts of Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Manawatu, Wellington, Marlborough, inland Canterbury, and Fiordland. Above normal rainfall (120 to 149 percent of September normal) was experienced at other locations within these regions. In contrast, below normal rainfall (50 to 80 percent of September normal) was observed in south Canterbury and Central Otago. Near normal rainfall (within 20 percent of September normal) was observed elsewhere. As at 1 October, most soils around the country were at normal soil moisture levels for the time of year. In Hawke’s Bay, around Gisborne, Kaikoura, and Blenheim, soils were wetter than normal for the time of year.

Well above average temperatures (more than 1.2°C above September average) were experienced in Hawke’s Bay and inland Gisborne in September. It was the warmest September on record for Masterton. Above average temperatures (0.5-1.2°C above September average) were recorded for most of the remainder of the North Island, except for the Far North, Wellington, and western Waikato, which experienced near average temperatures (within 0.5°C of September average). Most of the South Island recorded near average September temperatures, except for Nelson and Blenheim (above average) and Dunedin and parts of Central Otago (below average; 0.5-1.2°C below September average). The nation-wide average temperature in September 2013 was 11.0°C (0.6°C above the 1971-2000 September average from NIWA’s seven-station temperature series which begins in 1909).

September was a very sunny month for Westland (well above normal sunshine totals, more than 125% of September normal). In contrast, below normal sunshine (75-90 percent of September normal) was experienced in Northland, parts of Wellington, Wairarapa, inland Canterbury, and Central Otago. Near normal sunshine hours (within 10 percent of normal September sunshine hours) were recorded elsewhere.

Further Highlights:

• The highest temperature was 24.2 °C, recorded at Kaikoura on 11 September.
• The lowest temperature was -6.4 °C, observed at Albert Burn (near Wanaka) on 14 September.
• The highest 1-day rainfall was 253 mm, recorded at Mt Cook on 10 September. 
• The highest wind gust was 165 km/hr, at Cape Turnagain on 11 September.
• In September 2013, Auckland was the warmest, Christchurch was the coolest, driest, and sunniest, and Hamilton was the wettest and cloudiest of the six main centres.
• Of the available, regularly reporting sunshine observation sites, the sunniest four centres so far in 2013 (January to September) are: Whakatane (1975 hours), New Plymouth (1890 hours), Lake Tekapo (1772 hours), and Tauranga (1763 hours). 

Full report

Full details of the September 2013 climate summary (PDF 655 KB)

Climate statistics table

Climate statistics for September 2013 (PDF 76 KB)

For further information, please contact:

Dr Richard Turner

Research Meteorologist - Climate, NIWA Wellington

Tel. 04 386 0315