A warm, sunny and very dry month for most of the country.
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Rainfall
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Rainfall was well below normal (< 50%) or below normal (50-79%) for most parts of the country. The exception was parts of Waikato, Gisborne, coastal Canterbury, the Southern Lakes and Fiordland where rainfall was near normal (80-119%). It was extraordinarily dry in parts of Northland, Auckland, Taranaki, Manawatu-Whanganui, Kapiti Coast, Wellington, Marlborough, north Canterbury and Central Otago where rainfall totals for the month were less than 10% of their respective January normal. |
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Soil Moisture |
As of 1 February 2015, soil moisture levels were below normal for the time of year for extensive areas of New Zealand, but especially for northern, western and southern parts of the North Island, and north-western, southern and inland parts of the South Island. |
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Temperature |
January temperatures were above average (+0.51°C to +1.20°C) or well above average (> +1.20°C) for most parts of the country. It was a particularly warm month for parts of Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, West Coast, Canterbury and Central Otago where temperatures at least 2.0°C above the January average were recorded. |
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Sunshine |
It was a very sunny month for the country, with most areas recording above normal (110-125%) or well above normal (> 125%) January sunshine. |
Overview
January 2015 was characterised by air pressures which were higher than normal over and southeast of New Zealand, with an anomalous north-easterly airflow over the country. This pressure pattern resulted in an abundance of dry, warm and sunny weather during the month for most areas of the country. The predominance of anticyclones (highs) was reflected in rainfalls for the month as a whole, which were well below normal (< 50% of the January normal) or below normal (50-79% of the January normal) for most areas of the country. It was exceptionally dry in parts of Northland, Auckland, Taranaki, Manawatu-Whanganui, Kapiti Coast, Wellington, Marlborough, north Canterbury and Central Otago where rainfall totals for the month were less than 10% of their respective January normal. The lack of rainfall contributed to soil moisture levels that were much lower than normal for the time of year in many areas. Specifically, as of 1 February 2015 soils were notably drier than normal for much of the North Island, and north-western, inland and southern parts of the South Island. Soil moisture levels were nearer to normal for the time of year in Gisborne and Fiordland, reflecting the near normal rainfall (80-119% of the January normal) that was typically observed in these parts.
January was a warm month overall, with at least above average temperatures (0.51-1.20°C above the January average) for the majority of the country. Temperatures were well above average (> 1.20°C above the January average) in parts of Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Manawatu-Whanganui, Kapiti Coast, Wellington, West Coast, Nelson, inland Canterbury, Central Otago and Southland. It was an exceptionally warm month in Te Puke, Stratford, Reefton, Arthur’s Pass, Rangiora, Ranfurly, Lauder and Middlemarch where mean temperatures were greater than 2.0°C above the respective January average. January temperatures were near average (between -0.50 to +0.50 of the January average) in some eastern-most parts of Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough, which may reflect the exposure of these areas to the north-easterly airflow anomaly mentioned earlier. The nation-wide average temperature in January 2015 was 18.2°C (1.1°C above the 1981-2010 January average from NIWA’s seven station temperature series which begins in 1909)[1].
It was a very sunny month for the majority of the country, with persistent anticyclones (highs) giving rise to clear skies and numerous sunny days. Most of the country received above normal (110-125% of the January normal) or well above normal (> 125% of the January normal) sunshine hours for January. The exception was eastern parts of the South Island from Cape Campbell to Banks Peninsula where January sunshine was near normal (90-109% of the January normal).
Further Highlights:
- The highest temperature was 36.4°C, observed at Timaru on 16 January.
- The lowest temperature was 0.4°C, observed at Lumsden on 21 January.
- The highest 1-day rainfall was 146 mm, recorded at Milford Sound on 11 January.
- The highest wind gust was 148 km/hr, observed at South West Cape on 4 January.
- Of the six main centres in January 2015, Tauranga was the warmest and sunniest, Dunedin was the coolest, Wellington was the driest, Hamilton was the wettest and Christchurch was the cloudiest.
- Of the available, regularly reporting sunshine observation sites, the sunniest four centres so far in 2015 (1 January to 31 January) are: New Plymouth (356 hours), Paraparaumu (333 hours), Appleby (332 hours) and Tauranga (328 hours).
Download the full report:
Climate Summary January 2015 [PDF 682.7 KB]
Climate statistics table:
Climate statistics for January 2015 [72Kb PDF]
For further information, please contact:
Mr Chris Brandolino NIWA Forecaster – NIWA National Climate Centre Tel. 09 375 6335, Mobile (027) 886 0014
