MenuMain navigation

Climate Update 90 - December 2006

December

November's climate

Global setting & climate outlook

Feature article

Feature article

ClimateExplorer

climate-explorer.niwa.co.nz

The daily July to June water balance at Winchmore, Canterbury.

Figures showing daily water balance at over 100 climate stations around New Zealand are available on ClimateExplorer. The model that generates the figures makes some broad assumptions. The available water capacity, for example, is taken to be 150 mm, which is about right for the pasture root zone of an average silt loam soil. The model works best for level paddocks under pasture.

December

A monthly newsletter from the National Climate Centre.
December 2006 – Number 90
November – Drier than normal in eastern Northland and Gisborne, but wet in many other places. Air temperatures were higher than normal in the east of the North Island, while it was cold in the southwest of the country. Stormy westerlies were frequent over the South Island.
Outlook for December to February – more westerly winds than normal are likely, with wet conditions in the west and south of the South Island.

November's climate

New Zealand climate in November

Rainfall (click to enlarge).

Temperature (click to enlarge).

Contrasts in climate from west to east were a feature of November. Eastern Northland and Gisborne were drier than normal, but it was very wet in Horowhenua, and on the Kapiti Coast, as well as in much of the South Island. The month’s temperatures were more typical of midsummer in Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay, rather than spring.

Global setting & climate outlook

Global setting and climate outlook
Sea surface temperatures around New Zealand

New Zealand SST (click to enlarge).

SST anomalies in the New Zealand region were -0.2°C in November (+0.0 °C in October; Sep–Nov average anomaly 0.0 °C). Local SST anomalies have been decreasing for over a year, after a marked warming in early 2005. This is the first month since January 2005 that SST anomalies have become negative.

Archived

This page has been marked as archived, and is here for historical reference only.

Information provided may be out of date, and you are advised to check for newer sources in this section.

This content may be removed at a later date.