Climate Summary for July 2008

July 2008: Very wet and dull for most of country especially Marlborough, Canterbury and eastern Otago; Temperatures generally near or slightly above average

• Temperature: Near or slightly above average for most of the country;
• Rainfall: Well above normal rainfall (more than 200% of normal) in Marlborough, Canterbury, and eastern Otago; above normal (around 150% or more of normal) in Westland, Tasman, and the majority of the North Island;
• Sunshine: Below normal hours of bright sunshine recorded for most of country.

July was slightly warmer than average overall, and only slightly cooler than June, despite the cold spell which saw frosts as far north as Auckland and -9.1°C in Waiouru (a record low July minimum temperature for this location) in the second week of the month. The national average temperature of 8.3°C was 0.6°C above average. Kaikoura experienced a maximum temperature of 22.0°C on the 11th, its second highest temperature ever for the month of July.

Rainfall was well above normal (more than 200%) in Marlborough, Canterbury, and eastern Otago, with near record high July totals in many locations. Much of the rest of the country, with the exception of Southland and Gisborne, received above normal rainfall for July.  In terms of other extremes, there were several storms during the month bringing a mixture snow, high winds, heavy rainfall and high seas to much of the country (see Highlights and Extremes section below). In the last week of the month New Zealand was hit by two intense storms which caused significant damage to property, resulted in several evacuations, and led to the deaths of four people (and one person still missing).

Further Highlights

• The highest temperature during July 2008 was 22.0°C recorded at Kaikoura on the 11th. Waiouru, Motu (inland from Gisborne), and Culverden received record or near record low temperatures on the 7th (Waiouru and Motu) and the 15th (Culverden).
• The highest 1-day rainfall was 165.8 mm recorded at Paeroa on the 26th (the highest 1-day total at this location since records began in 1914).
• The highest wind gust for the month was 174 km/hr at Cape Reinga on the 26th.
• Of the five main centres, Auckland was the warmest and sunniest, Wellington was the wettest, Christchurch the coldest, and Dunedin the driest (or the least wet!).

Temperature

Mean temperatures were near or slightly above average for most of the country.

Rainfall

Rainfall was more than twice (200 percent) normal in Marlborough, Canterbury, and eastern Otago, and about one and a half (150%) times normal in Westland, Tasman, and the majority of the North Island (with the exception of Gisborne).

Sunshine

July totals of bright sunshine were below average (less than 90 percent of normal) throughout much of the country. Sunshine totals were well below average (less than 75 of normal) in parts of Northland, Taranaki, Wairarapa, Marlborough, and inland Canterbury.

Full report

• Full details of the July 2008 Climate Summary

Climate statistics tables

Climate statistics July 2008

For further information, please contact:

Dr Andrew Tait – Climate Scientist
NIWA National Climate Centre – Wellington
Phone +64 4 386 0562
Mobile +64 27 327 7948
[email protected]

Dr James Renwick – Climate Scientist
NIWA National Climate Centre – Wellington
Phone +64 4 386 0343
Mobile +64 21 178 5550
[email protected]

 

Acknowledgement of NIWA as the source is required.