Wellington’s woeful summer
Unpack your winter woollies – Wellington is not warming up for a while yet.
The capital has been plagued by cloudy days and low temperatures reminiscent of winter for most of January, and according to MetService, this summer won’t heat up quickly.
Meteorologist Andy Best told Stuff that a ‘‘blocking high’’ was sitting over the South Island, stopping any other pressure systems bringing better weather.
That slow and sluggish high was, in part, to blame for the dismal weather in Wellington.
While the start of January had been more summery, since January 12 temperatures had dropped and the mercury had struggled to rise.
Southerly winds had brought a chill to the air and forced many to swap shorts for trousers.
So far, the highest temperature in Wellington this month was a dismal 22 degrees Celsius on January 6.
The long weekend would bring some fine weather but temperatures were unlikely to sneak past 22C.
That would mean settled weather for the Wellington Cup Day and continued stable weather into next week.
While Wellington summers are always unpredictable, this year was proving to be cooler than usual.
The average temperature for January since records began in Wellington is 17.7C. However, January 2020 was tracking below that average with an average of 15.8C.
Historically, the last couple of summers had remarkably fine Januaries, with January 2018 the hottest month on record for New Zealand since 1909.
It is a far cry from the summer of 2015 which saw a horde of people flocking to Oriental Bay beach to try to cool off as the city experienced a month of hot weather.
WellingtonNZ general manager Anna Calver told Stuff earlier this month that the warmer weather ‘‘often takes longer’’ to reach the capital city than other parts of the country.
‘‘While we wait, there’s plenty to keep people entertained with great exhibitions at Te Papa and City Gallery, trails to explore, concerts in the Botanic Gardens and day trips where it’s usually a few degrees warmer in Ka¯ piti and the Wairarapa,’’ she said.