Climate
New Zealand Climate in November 2001
November characterised by high rainfall events
November was generally wet, and characterised by some heavy rainfall events in many parts of New Zealand. The wettest days were: 6 November, up to 85 mm thoughout Northland; 13 November, up to 65 mm over the central North Island; 18 November, 200 mm in Fiordland; 22 November, 50 mm in south Auckland and western Bay of Plenty, and 50–100 mm in Wellington and the Hutt Valley. Marlborough recorded double the normal monthly rainfall for the second month in a row.
A few areas missed the wet conditions, notably parts of Hawke’s Bay and north Otago, where rainfall was below average.
Air temperatures were just above normal over much of the country, although patches of the east coast were a little cooler than usual for November as a whole. The national average temperature of 14.1°C was 0.3°C above the historical mean for the month.
Cloudy and northeasterly
Radiation and sunshine levels were lower than normal over most of the country. Moist, northeasterly air flow over New Zealand was a common feature of the month, with a lower than normal frequency of spring westerly winds.
Wellington preserved its windy reputation with storm force winds gusting to 198 km/h (107 knots) at Baring Head on 17 November. Four tornadoes were sighted near Whakatane on 4 November.