Rain nearing record for July

Temperatures from 17C to minus 3.5C

The July 2022 weather in Taupo can be summed up simply in one word WET! In fact, the month was the second wettest July on record, the 238.5mm being a mere 17.5mm short of the July rainfall record of 256.0mm falling over 23 days back in 2008. Last month's 238.5mm fell on 22 days! But what is most significant is that the total rainfall for the winter so far in June-July now stands at 446.0mm and is only just outside the wettest winter on record for Taupo, when 614.0mm was recorded over the entire winter in 2008 (June-July-August). The August rainfall average is 132mm. A total fall of 168mm next month would make 2022 the wettest winter on record for Taupo. It is already the third wettest, with just 70.5mm needed to make it the second wettest winter. July's rainfall this year was 105mm above the expected July average, with the wettest of the 22 wet days being a 24-hour fall of 43.0mm recorded on Friday, July 8. Despite being wet, the month was reasonably mild for winter with the daily average temperature being about 1 degree warmer that expected.

The warmest day was also the wettest day when the daytime mercury reached a mild 17 degrees on Friday, July 8. The coldest day was minus 2.1 degrees, read on Saturday, July 23, when there was a frost of minus 3.5 degrees. The heaviest frost was recorded on Thursday, July 7, reading minus 4.6 degrees. There were 10 frosts, most minus 2 degrees or less. The windiest day was Thursday, July 21, when a westerly peaked at 70 km/h at the Taupo airport.