June second wettest yet

The first month of winter in Taupo¯ produced weather that was slightly warmer and wetter than usual. After a year that has so far been extremely dry, June rainfall went against the trend and proved the second wettest June on record. There were 18 days where rain was recorded meaning that 60 per cent of the month was wet and the total rainfall of 193.5mm was the second highest for any June month. Saturday June 27 recorded 61.0mm of rain, the wettest day of the month and year so far.The wettest June was in 2010 when 260.0mm fell on 19 wet days. Despite the excessive rainfall for June the first six months of the year were very dry. At the halfway point in 2020 there have been 424.0mm of rain on 47 wet days compared to the overall average for Taupo¯ at this point of 580.0mm on 58 days. June 2020 has changed the trend of the year so far. Temperatures for June 2020 were on the whole close to what can be expected. The daytime maximum temperature of 12.7C was in fact right on the average for the month while the night time minimum of 4.4C was 0.8C warmer. The overall daily temperature was 8.6C, 0.5C warmer than the monthly average for June. The warmest day occurred on Tuesday June 2 when the mercury reached 15.8C. The coldest night saw the temperature drop to minus 2.8C on Sunday June 14 when the heaviest frost of minus 5.5C occurred. There were only four frosts recorded.

Looking ahead, July has the dubious distinction of being the wettest and coldest month of the year in Taupo¯ , but then in a year when so many things in the world have been dramatically unusual maybe this July will be different. But not so if the first few days were any indication!