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March

A monthly newsletter from the National Climate Centre.

Current climate – February 2009

Rainfall was above normal over most of New Zealand and exceeded 200% of normal in parts of Northland, Coromandel, western Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu, Wellington, Marlborough, Canterbury, and Otago. Most of the rain fell during three storms on 10, 20, and 27–28 February. Rainfall was below normal in Fiordland and parts of Southland.

Soil moisture levels for most of the country returned to near normal by the end of February, a dramatic change from the predominantly dry conditions early in the month.

Air temperatures during February were high for the first 12 days and then lower than average for the remainder of the month. Mean temperatures for the month were mostly above historical averages in the North Island and below in the South Island. A heat-wave over the country from 7–12 February lifted temperatures to above 34 °C in some places. The national average temperature of 17.5 °C was 0.3 °C below the historical average.

Warm northwesterlies predominated early in February, followed by a change to more southerly air flows later in the month.

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