Hamilton’s wettest summer

A promising start to summer didn’t deliver for a rainy and sunshy Hamilton. While some regions soaked up the rays, Hamilton topped the charts for the wettest and least sunny city out of the six main centres.

But it was also the hottest summer Hamilton has ever recorded.

And the combination of hot temperatures and heavy rain has caused vegetables – usually thriving in summer – to rot.

Hamilton Airport recorded the highest temperature since its records began in 1946, with a mean air temperature of 20.1 degree Celsius.

The city saw 608 hours of sun, less than Wellington and Auckland by 60 and 40 hours respectively.

While the season had kicked off dry and hot, the entire country ended up unusually hot and wet, Niwa’s principal forecaster Chris Brandolino said.

‘‘It was a summer of two halves, to be frank,’’ Brandolino said. ‘‘That second two-thirds was the second wettest two-thirds of summer since 1907, for Hamilton.’’

Ruakura saw 220 per cent of its usual summer rainfall.

The weather slump has meant vegetable prices have spiked in supermarkets across the country.

Horticulture New Zealand chief executive Mike Chapman said the key growing areas – including Waikato – had perfect breeding conditions for fungal and bacterial infestations.

‘‘It is weather-related. We’ve had 18 months of really bad weather and a lot of climatic events,’’ Chapman said. ‘‘Cyclone Gita brought a lot of rain and that rain munted little plants. Then we had hot humid conditions so lettuces bolted, heads of broccoli rotted. The weather just made it so difficult.

‘‘We have had growers saying they’re 20 per cent back in production losing hundreds of thousands of dollars a week because they haven’t had the supply to the markets.

‘‘If these events continue, there will be more stress placed on the country’s ability to feed itself.’’

And humidity doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, Brandolino said. ‘‘The ocean temperatures – the marine heatwave that is very warm around New Zealand – that’s continuing, that’s persisting.

‘‘That will likely mean our air temperatures stay above average for the autumn season as a whole,’’ Brandolino said.

‘‘That’s fuel for rainfall and sometimes heavy rainfall.’’