Climate
28 February 2007
New Zealand Climate
Warm and wet in the east
May’s climate was much warmer than usual, with temperatures almost the same as in April 2004. Rainfall was well above average in parts of Auckland, Coromandel, and Bay of Plenty, and below average in Wanganui, Manawatu, Kapiti, and Wairarapa. Mean temperatures were above normal in most districts, especially Bay of Plenty and Gisborne. A record 27.3 °C was recorded at Nelson Park, Napier, on 2 May, the highest May temperature since measurements began there in 1869, and a new May all-time record for the North Island.
The May climate pattern was due to warm air flow fron the northerly quater prevailing over the country with more frequent depressions in the Tasman Sea, and anticyclones east of New Zealand.