New Zealand Autumn And Winter 2011

[J07]

It's the 1st of May (equivalent to 1st November in Northern Hemisphere) and the national high was 26C in Hokitika on the West Coast of the South Island.

We've had a blocking high over us for a while, with some very dry air above the inversion. The 850hPa temperature/dewpoint on Friday was 6C over -40C.

Approaching from the north has been a low, typical of La Nina summer/autumn, bringing dewpoints of 18C to the north and quite strong easterly winds.

Probably the weather will stay unsettled but mild for the coming days. We've already had a few cold outbreaks this autumn, but interspersed with long sunny and warm spells (like today).

[Optimus Prime]

Am I right in assuming 2010 was a cold year? I'm pretty sure Summer was very cool, how was Autumn and Winter?

[J07]

Am I right in assuming 2010 was a cold year? I'm pretty sure Summer was very cool, how was Autumn and Winter?

Last summer was cool but there was a drought in the north and it was quite warm there. But March and April were very warm and sunny in 2010, and February was pretty good also. January was the shocker, especially in these parts!

Autumn 2010 didn't kick off until mid May and there was one particular storm that was very serious for the east of the South Island. The rest of the winter was by comparison uneventful, then in September we had some of the strongest SW flows we've had for ages, with a snowstorm that collapsed the stadium roof in Invercargill.

October was then very settled, and likewise November. Really Oct/Nov 2010 were more typical of summer weather than spring, then from December onwards we've been in a persistent La Nina type summer, with high dewpoints and warm nights and plenty of rain.

Today the national high was 26C (again), but this time in Wanganui which is in the central North Island and would have had a foehn warmed northerly.

Wellington had a foggy morning then lots of sunshine, no wind and a high of 20C with dewpoints in the 15-16C mark.

[optrex]

Last summer was cool but there was a drought in the north and it was quite warm there. But March and April were very warm and sunny in 2010, and February was pretty good also. January was the shocker, especially in these parts!

first time in a few weeks without a having to light the fire last night, just got lots of the wet stuff instead.

The NWers are going to help keep us warm for the next few days, after those frosts and -2 and -3,s we had last week.

[J07]

Gusts to 95 knots on Stewart Island today. The maximum temperature for the country was 25C in Hastings. So far this month, the national high has always been above 20C.

Yesterday, Wellington's daytime maximum (20C) happened around 8PM, when it was dark and windy.

[Kiwi]

Gusts to 95 knots on Stewart Island today. The maximum temperature for the country was 25C in Hastings. So far this month, the national high has always been above 20C.

Yesterday, Wellington's daytime maximum (20C) happened around 8PM, when it was dark and windy.

Hi JO7 ...what are the long range forecasts predicting for the autumn/winter? Is there any sort of consensus?

I was in Auckland in early to mid April and had some great weather... including one stunning day on Bethells beach! Not bad weather here in the UK today with a fair bit of sunshine... but no beach!

[J07]

May was the warmest ever, coming in at 2.4C above average. The previous warmest May was only 2007: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10442383

Perhaps things will change soon. A series of troughs are passing over NZ, and the intense blocking high is moving slowly away to the east. This helped temperatures reach 22C in Whitianga today. Auckland this afternoon was 21/16, very warm and humid for the time of year.

It looks like a disturbed pattern for the near future with no real sign of any more intense highs forming over or east of NZ.

The ski fields are currently in a bit of bother: http://www.3news.co.nz/Record-warm-May-stunts-ski-season/tabid/423/articleID/213677/Default.aspx

[Kentish Kiwi]

Quite remarkable warmth in New Zealand at the moment. Can't get my head around the fact that it has been consistently warmer or at least comparable in the North of NZ to the UK for the last few weeks and temperatures look to be similar for a while yet. Saw a status on facebook saying the beaches in Auckland we're packed the other day. All this and it's officially the summer here and the winter in NZ! Only a couple of weeks until the longest/shortest day respectively...

http://weatherwatch.co.nz/content/record-challenging-heat-across-sunday

[J07]

One of the coldest outbreaks for years has started today. At 12:30PM it's only 1C in Invercargill. Snow to sea level for the South Island today, and it may be as low as 500m when the blast reaches Auckland and 600m in Northland, which is really something special.

[yamkin]

Wintry blast brings New Zealand’s South Island to a standstill

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5334310/Wintry-blast-brings-countryLATEST

[yamkin]

Some more interesting info

[J07]

If a mod sees this could they please merge this topic with "Autumn and Winter 2011"? Seems a bit bonkers having a thread for autumn and winter and a separate thread for winter.......especially since they were both started by me. Oops.

[Snowangel-MK]

New Zealand's North Island sees first snow fall in 40 years

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/freak-snowfall-has-nz-reeling-20110815-1iuv2.html

Edited August 15, 2011 by MKsnowangel

[Summer of 95]

Hearing about snow in the centres of Auckland and Wellington

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5450195/Snow-causes-chaos-across-New-Zealand picture of snow falling in central Wellington.

It's not that unusual in Dunedin and Christchurch (or the hills near Wellington), but it certainly is in the centre of Wellington, which has a real microclimate that makes it almost immune to frost or serious heat, but windy much of the time. As for Auckland, the typical high in winter is around 15C and it's only recorded frost a handful of times.

[Coast]

[cyclonic happiness]

Wow! they got more than us here in the midlands! it's not fair!!! I'm telling Santa!

[onlyME]

I read that last snow in Wellington has fallen in 1939.

Is it true?!

[J07]

Last major snow in Wellington region was 1995, but nothing in the city. In 1976 it snowed in the city and some significant falls around the suburbs.

It is normal in Wellington for the coldest snap of any typical winter to bring a dusting to 400m. So what we have now is very unusual. It has now snowed for 3 days running in Wellington, which is amazing. Yesterday we had thundersnow too!

Meanwhile, in Auckland they had their coldest ever day yesterday. A maximum at the airport of 8C. A light snow fall fell in the city centre but it was pretty feeble. Enough to dust the arm of your jacket then melt immediately!

By the sounds of it, for Auckland and the rest of the North Island this is the coldest, snowiest outbreak since 1939 (the last time it snowed in Auckland city). 1939 though was apparently much colder and snowier, with actual accumulations persisting to a few hundred metres in Auckland, and reported drifts of ten metres in the South Island. We may never see anything like that again.

In Wellington yesterday evening, when it stopped snowing the temperature was 2C and for several hours gusts of 50 knots from the south. Today it was sitting around 5C or 6C with a dewpoint of around -3C, then it snowed for 30 mins, then hailed, now it's raining.

It's the first time in Wellington I've ever experienced truly "wintry" conditions. Normally the coldest blasts here feel like a UK northerly November "toppler", and are pretty shortlived.

[Coast]

MetService says there is an end in sight, but not for a few days and there'll be hard frosts before then. Snow showers in Canterbury and Marlborough are expected to spread north to reach the central North Island high country tonight, with snow down to around 400 metres.

It was snowing again in Wellington late this afternoon. Strong southerlies are expected to bring severe wind chill conditions to coastal areas in Canterbury, Wellington and Wairarapa, but then gradually ease from late tomorrow.

"While more snow is likely, the end is in sight. It's still a few days away, though," said MetService Weather Ambassador Bob McDavitt. McDavitt said an anticyclone is expected to move onto the South Island on Friday, to cover much of the country by Sunday night. "This is a cold cloudy high, so while showers in eastern areas will become steadily lighter from Wednesday onwards, they probably won't completely clear until the southerly winds die out in a few days' time. For the next few days frosts will be severe in many places, and there is likely to be a lot of black ice on roads, McDavitt said.

http://tvnz.co.nz/na...ver-yet-4352630

http://tvnz.co.nz/we...cast/wellington

[SP1986]

No that was central Auckland apparently, although the hills around Auckland sometimes get it.

Wellington's was the most snow for 40 years, according to some sources.

[A Winter's Tale]

New Zealand is currently facing a very significant cold spell with some areas experiencing a once in 80 years event.

Here are some articles regarding the snow:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2026146/New-Zealands-North-Island-sees-snow-fall-40-years.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/15/new-zealand-snow-heaviest-years

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903392904576511214055411054.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Quite significant stuff and it may continue for a few more days yet.

To my knowledge, parts of South America had a harsh winter (or harsh periods of winter weather).

I would like to know who severe or notable a winter it has been in the southern hemishphere and what other significant moments during the winter.

Was last winter and the year before quite severe too in the southern Hemisphere and do winters down there reflect what we might get up here?

[Bethany C]

This is really interesting! Having been to New Zealand I just don'r associate it with snow. I have relatives from there and they say that one of the reasons they moved from England was because of the snow! But they are in Auckland so it doesn't sound like they were too badly hit.

[Summer of 95]

It's the first time in Wellington I've ever experienced truly "wintry" conditions. Normally the coldest blasts here feel like a UK northerly November "toppler", and are pretty shortlived.

Funny you say that... When I was in Wellington in July (2003), the weather felt very like one of those feeble 90s/early 00s attempts at a winter polar maritime/NW'ly airflow; with the temperature hovering around 8C despite a howling SW (ie our NW) wind which made it feel more like 0C, and horizontal rain much of the time. With the best hope of wintriness being a dusting above 500m or so. It was so localised too, 10-15 miles away the sunny days/frosty nights pattern typical of the central N island and eastern S Island seemed to predominate.

[❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️]

[J07]

Funny you say that... When I was in Wellington in July (2003), the weather felt very like one of those feeble 90s/early 00s attempts at a winter polar maritime/NW'ly airflow; with the temperature hovering around 8C despite a howling SW (ie our NW) wind which made it feel more like 0C, and horizontal rain much of the time. With the best hope of wintriness being a dusting above 500m or so. It was so localised too, 10-15 miles away the sunny days/frosty nights pattern typical of the central N island and eastern S Island seemed to predominate.

Yeah, Wellington far too often misses out on the sunny days/frosty nights that so many other places in the vicinity get. It can happen here though, we just need a stable SW flow and it can be calm and sunny. But push the SW flow a little too much in either direction and you end up either with wet southerlies or horrible cold windy northerlies.

Here's an aerial video of the Wellington hills: http://www.stuff.co.nz/lightbox/national/5453107/?KeepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=560&width=640