Tropical autumn to hang around a little longer
Don’t break out the scarves just yet – the warm weather is set to linger through autumn as warmer sea temperatures continue to bring the tropics to New Zealand.
Northern and eastern areas of the North Island are set to be warmer and wetter than average, with the Tasman Sea bringing moisture to New Zealand from the north and the west.
Warmer-than-average temperatures are also expected for the rest of the country from now until June. However, rainfall should remain normal for that time of year.
The seasonal forecast was issued by Niwa in its outlook for Autumn 2018. Meteorologist Ben Noll said the warmer conditions would last through to the end of the season and into winter.
‘‘The north and east of the North Island will see above normal rainfall due to warm northeasterly winds bringing moisture from the subtropics.
‘‘Even though the forecast is for above-average temps, we’ll have to watch for the risk of frost as cold snaps occur in the autumn season and into winter,’’ he said.
The news comes on the back of a summer in which New Zealand sweated through its hottest on record.
The nationwide average temperature for the 2017-18 summer was 18.8 degrees Celsius, 0.3C above the previous 1934-35 record of 18.5C, and a significant 2.1C above the 1981-2010 averages.
‘‘Warm seas will give us warmer-than-average air temperatures,’’ Noll said.
‘‘As we go through the season, La Nina is decaying, which means more variable windflow patterns from the northeast and southwest.’’
The west of the North Island and the east and north of the South Island would have near normal or above normal rainfall, he said.
Noll said rainfall in the west of the South Island should be the same as years gone by.