Was Wellington’s summer a bummer?
Wellington has had the occasional scorcher this summer but average temperatures, rainfall and sunshine have some calling it a bummer summer.
Data covering from December 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021, has shown the Hutt Valley winning out over Wellington in terms of temperature and sunshine. According to MetService, the Kelburn weather station recorded a maximum temperature of 24.8 degrees Celsius on February 7, and an average wind speed of 19kmh.
The highest temperature was five degrees lower than the absolute maximum summer temperature recorded in Kelburn; a sizzling 30.3C in January 2019. The average maximum temperature for this summer – that is, the average of every daily maximum over the past three months – was 19.7C.
Those temperatures were very similar to last year, when the highest temperature was 24.1C on January 26 and again on February 16, and the average maximum was 19.8C – only 0.1 of a degree difference.
Kelburn had 38 more hours of sunshine last year than in 2019, for a total of 668.1 – only a little higher than the historical average of 662.
MetService recorded 197.2mm of rainfall, compared with 202mm the year before, and a lot less than the historical average of 246.3mm.
At the Wellington Airport station, the highest temperature all summer was 25.4C on January 26, and the average wind speed was 26kmh. It received 165.8mm of rain. In Lower Hutt, temperatures reached a high of 29.9C on the last day of summer, February 28, and there was 168.8mm of rain. The average wind speed was a meagre 9kmh. In Porirua, temperatures reached a high of 25.5C on February 2, and again on February 26. There was 162.6mm of rain, and 586.2 sunshine hours – nearly 49 full days of sunshine. The average wind speed was a mere 12kmh.
National Institute for Water & Atmospheric Research principal scientist of forecasting and media Chris Brandalino said levels across the board had been very average. ‘‘It was a pretty average summer but I think most people will think it was a lousy summer as there were not many days when it got above 25 degrees.’’
Looking ahead, Wellington could expect some cooler weather to kick off autumn. ‘‘Temperatures are about equally likely to be near average, or above,’’ Brandalino said.
‘‘What we’re expecting this weekend or early next week won’t define the season as a whole.’’ Mid-week was looking pretty mild but come Sunday the city may not even hit 14C – the midday temperature lower even than night time temperatures during the week. The ocean tended to be warmer in the first month of autumn than the first month of summer but the beach would not be looking too appealing with some cooler weather likely.