Latest news with #GregorMacara
Scoop
04-07-2025
- Climate
- Scoop
Mild Start To Winter, Wetter Than Usual – Earth Sciences NZ Releases Latest June 2025 Climate Summary
Winter began on a mild and soggy note across much of New Zealand, according to Earth Sciences New Zealand's (formerly NIWA) latest monthly climate summary for June 2025. Temperatures were above or well above average for most of the country, especially across the North Island, Tasman, Otago, eastern Southland, and Fiordland, says Earth Sciences New Zealand climate scientist Gregor Macara. "The nationwide average temperature of 9.4°C was 0.7°C above the June normal, making it the 16th-warmest June on record since 1909." Rainfall was well above normal in many regions including Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Taranaki, Wellington, and much of the South Island. In contrast, dry conditions persisted in northern Northland, eastern Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, and Wairarapa. Soil moisture levels reflected the rainfall pattern, says Macara. "Drier-than-normal soils remained in Hawke's Bay, while soils were wetter than normal across much of eastern South Island, from Marlborough to Dunedin." The highest temperature in June was 23.2°C at Whakatu in the Hawke's Bay, while Aoraki Mt Cook Airport recorded the lowest temperature of -12.9°C. Milford Sound took the title for the highest one-day rainfall in June with 151 mm on 25 June (that's more than halfway up a Redband gumboot), while another regular in climate summaries, east coast headland Cape Turnagain, between Hawke's Bay and Cook Strait, recorded the strongest wind gust at 191 km/h on the 1st of June. Among the main centres, Auckland was the warmest, Tauranga the wettest and sunniest, Christchurch the coolest and driest, and Dunedin the least sunny. The sunniest four locations in 2025 so far are Taranaki, Bay of Plenty, Auckland, and wider Nelson. On 1 July, GNS and NIWA merged to become Earth Sciences New Zealand. More detailed information for regions, cities and monitoring stations is available at
Otago Daily Times
06-05-2025
- Climate
- Otago Daily Times
‘Exceptional warmth': temperature records tumble in April
Temperature records were toppled left, right and centre across the southern regions during April, giving locals a welcome extension to summer. Niwa climate scientist Gregor Macara, of Lauder, said several periods of ''exceptional warmth'' resulted in summer-like temperatures in many areas, and dozens of locations had record or near-record-high daily maximum temperatures for the month. He said April was characterised by lower-than-normal mean sea level pressure (MSLP) to the northwest of New Zealand, and higher-than-normal MSLP to the east of the country. ''This produced more northeasterly airflows than normal, bringing sustained warm temperatures and several heavy rain events over the course of the month - including the arrival of ex-Tropical Cyclone Tam, in mid-April.'' Among the 72 locations that had record or near record-high April mean temperatures were Franz Josef (14.0°C), Waipounamu (11.4°C) and Nugget Point (12.4°C), which had their second-highest April mean temperatures; and Oamaru (13.0°C), Dunedin (Musselburgh) (13.5°C) and Queenstown (12.8°C), which had their third-highest. Of the six main centres, Dunedin recorded 160 hours of sunshine in April - the most sunshine hours in the country. While it was not Dunedin's driest April on record, the city only received 48mm of rain in the month - 79% of its normal April rainfall. It meant Dunedin was the driest and sunniest of the six main centres, Auckland was the warmest, Christchurch was the coolest and Tauranga was the wettest and least sunny. The sunniest four regions so far in 2025 are Taranaki (1075 hours), Bay of Plenty (996 hours), Auckland (990 hours) and Central Otago (987 hours). Mr Macara said the highest April temperature was 29.7°C, at Orari, on April 4. But early in April, many southern records were broken when a warm northeasterly airflow covered the country on April 3, notably on Stewart Island where the temperature reached 25.9°C. ''This was the highest April temperature observed at this location, exceeding the previous record by a remarkable 4.3°C.'' On April 4, unusually high temperatures were also recorded in the South under a northwesterly airflow. ''Most notably, Dunedin (Musselburgh) reached 29.5°C - this was the city's highest April temperature since records began in 1947.'' Middlemarch (28.0°C) and Nugget Point (25.0°C) also had their highest April temperatures on record, and Alexandra (28.4°C) had its equal-highest April temperature since records began in 1928. Oamaru (27.3°C), Waipounamu (24.5°C), Cromwell (27.2°C) and Clyde (28.6°C) recorded their second-highest April temperatures. Mr Macara said the nationwide average temperature in April was 15.2°C, making it New Zealand's fifth-warmest April on record. Rainfall was above normal or well above normal for much of the country, including Central Otago; and below normal or well below normal in Dunedin, South Otago and southeastern Southland. By the end of April, soil moisture levels were below normal for South Otago and Invercargill.
