It was an unusually warm start to winter for most of the country, with three areas having their warmest June on record.
According to NIWA’s June climate summary, released today, temperatures were above average (0.51C-1.2C above average) or well above average (>1.20C above average) for every region of the country.
“Nine locations observed record or near-record high daily maximum temperatures. The highest temperatures were recorded on the east coast of the North Island,” the summary read.
The highest temperature was record in Hastings on June 10, when temperatures reached 25.7C – the highest recorded temperature for the month of June.
In the Hastings suburb of Whakatū, the temperature reached 25.3C – the country’s third-highest June temperature on record.
Three locations recorded their warmest June. Whenuapai in northwest Auckland observed a mean temperature of 13C last month – 1.4C higher than normal and the warmest June since records began in 1945.
In the north of Auckland, Whangaparāoa recorded a mean air temperature of 14.3C last month – 1.5C higher than normal, and the warmest June since records began in 1982.
At Mt Ruapehu Chateau, a mean air temperature of 5.7C was recorded – 1.9C higher than normal and the warmest June result since records began in 2000.
Of the main centres last month, Auckland was the warmest, Tauranga was wettest and sunniest, Christchurch was the coolest, and Dunedin was least sunny.
Of the available, regularly reporting sunshine observation sites, the sunniest four locations in 2024 so far were wider Nelson with 1401 hours, followed by Marlborough with 1378 hours, Bay of Plenty with 1376 hours, and Tasman with 1355 hours.
Overnight temperatures no sweet relief
“Exceptional warmth” was also recorded overnight in some parts of the country, with Queenstown having a balmy minimum temperature of 18.4C and a maximum of 19.5C between 1am and 5am.
Nationwide average temperatures last month were 9.9C – 1.1C above the 1991-2020 June average and making it New Zealand’s 12th-warmest June since NIWA’s seven station temperature series began in 1909.
Temperatures were above average for all the main centres. Dunedin was especially warm, with the city having its third-warmest June on record.
“The prevalence of relatively warm northeasterly airflows, and an associated lack of southerly airflows, contributed to the high air temperatures for much of New Zealand,” the NIWA summary reported.
NIWA said the “coolest location relative to normal” was Tūrangi, where the mean temperature of 7.0C was 0.4C below the June normal. The winter chill was attributed largely to the cooler overnight temperatures, with the town’s mean daily minimum temperature of 1C sitting at 1.4C below average.
The lowest temperature was -9.4C, recorded at Middlemarch on June 12.
Dry start to winter
It was also a dry start to winter, with nearly 42% of New Zealand’s regularly reporting stations observing below (50-79% of normal) or well below normal (<50% of normal) June rainfall.
The driest location, relative to normal, was Mt Ruapehu Chateau, with just 23% of normal June rainfall.
It was a different story in parts of Northland, Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, northern Tasman, the Kaikōura coast, and eastern Otago, however, where rainfall was well above normal (>149% of normal).
Whakatū and Motueka each observed their third-highest rainfall totals for June.
New Zealand’s wettest location relative to normal was Gisborne, which recorded 219% of its normal June rainfall.
The highest one-day rainfall was recorded on June 9, when 139mm of rain fell in Arthur’s Pass.
The highest wind gust was 178km/h — observed at Cape Turnagain on June 1.