News from NZ

2007 was certainly a year of weather extremes; from the autumn drought in the North Island’s East Coast that devastated farms and stock, to the so-called 1-in-50 year floods which occurred twice in Northland.

These two climatic king-hits, along with Taranaki’s tornadoes, made NIWA’s extreme events for the year.

July was certainly a month of extremes.

Starting with the tornadoes in Taranaki, it was closely followed by the second of the debilitating floods for Northland, as well as damaging hurricane-force storms from Kaitaia to the Coromandel.
While down south, a two-week cold snap burst hundreds of water pipes throughout Central Otago.
The wintry weather also allowed curlers to get out on the Idaburn Dam for the first time in six years.
Auckland was the wettest and the warmest of the five main centres, while Wellington was the sunniest and not surprisingly the windiest.
Looking a head, La Nina is the buzzword for the first half of 2008, with more warm air and higher water temperatures for beachgoers.
In autumn, wetter conditions are expected in the north and east of the country with drier spells predicted in the South Island.
The drought pattern could raise concerns for the large areas of Canterbury and Southland that were converted to dairy farming and are already experiencing drier than normal conditions for summer.
La Nina’s features have already taken shape in December.
Its characteristics of nor easters and rain in the north and east of the country, as well as drier spells in the south, left Kaitaia with its lowest sunshine hours on record for the month, while Invercargill was second only to Tekapo as the sunniest spot in the country in December.
If this pattern continues, 2008 may just out rank the extremes of 2007 as being the most memorable.