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Current Climate - October 2014

October 2014 was characterised by air pressures which were lower than normal over and to the south-east of the country. This resulted in an anomalous south-westerly flow over New Zealand.

Rainfall

October rainfall patterns were largely influenced by the south-westerly flow anomaly persisting throughout the month. Areas exposed to the south-westerlies received rainfall that was above normal (120-149%) or well above normal (> 149%).  Indeed, such rainfall anomalies were experienced in south-western Southland and Fiordland.  In contrast, areas sheltered from the south-westerlies received below normal (50-79%) or well below normal (< 50%) rainfall, and this was the case for eastern and northern parts of the South Island, as well as the lower North Island, Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne and the Bay of Plenty.  Remaining areas of the country typically received near normal rainfall (within 20% of normal) for the month.

Temperature

October saw near average temperatures (within 0.50°C of average) for most areas of the country overall.  However, there was considerable day-to-day variability of temperatures at times as the anomalous south-westerly flow for the month overall (as outlined earlier) shifted between more westerly and southerly variations.   Temperatures were much cooler than average during the early part of October, with a cool southerly flow bringing snow to low elevations in both the North and South Islands.  The latter half of the month saw warmer than average temperatures across most of New Zealand.  This effectively offset the cold start to the month, meaning temperatures were near average across most of New Zealand for the month as a whole.  However, October was a cool month for isolated inland parts of Southland and Otago, Waitomo and the Far North, where temperatures were below average (-1.20 to -0.51°C), while above average temperatures (+0.51°C to +1.20°C) were observed in isolated inland parts of Bay of Plenty. The nation-wide average temperature in October 2014 was 12.2°C (0.1°C above the 1971-2000 October average from NIWA’s seven station temperature series which begins in 1909)[1].

Sunshine

October was a sunny month for the lower half of the North Island as well as northern, central and south-eastern areas of the South Island, with above normal sunshine (110-125%) recorded in many of these areas. Balclutha, Dunedin, Cheviot and Martinborough enjoyed near-record high sunshine hours for the month.  Sunshine hours were near normal (90-109%) for most remaining areas of the country.

Soil Moisture

Soil moisture levels on the east coast of the South Island were below normal for the time of year at the start of the month, and this remained the case as of 1 November 2014 after a relatively dry October there.  Likewise, at 1 November 2014 soils were drier than normal for the time of year in Marlborough and Nelson.  Soils were wetter than normal in the Far North, Auckland, and parts of Manawatu-Whanganui.  Soils were also wetter than normal in Hawke’s Bay despite the region receiving below normal rainfall in October: soil moisture levels have remained relatively high as a result of above normal September rainfall that was received in the region.  Soil moisture levels were near normal for the time of year for remaining areas of New Zealand.

Percentage of normal rainfall for October 2014.
End of month water balance in the pasture root zone for an average soil type where the available water capacity is taken to be 150 mm.
Departure from average air temperature for October 2014.

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