Warm weather is set to continue across much of the country this week – and possibly into next – continuing the hot start to summer.
Joining Breakfast this morning, NIWA principal scientist Chris Brandolino said some areas could see temperatures in the early 30s, due to a warm airflow coming from Australia.
Brandolino said the warmest areas will be on the east coast of both the North and South Island. He also mentioned Blenheim, Hawke’s Bay and Eastern Canterbury will be close to hitting 30-degree temperatures over the course of the week.
“Even Auckland will be in the mid-20s, which may not sound overly impressive, but given the time of year and we’re surrounded by water, that is pretty impressive. Usually, mid-20s we wouldn’t see pretty regularly until later on in the summer, say toward January.”
“It will be close to 30 in Christchurch and Dunedin, maybe just shy of that, but there will be other locations which will be exceeding 30.”
Brandolino said Thursday will be one of the hottest days this week – where New Zealand’s hottest spots may reach temperatures in the mid-30s.
Is this unusual?
Brandolino said while this warm streak is unusual, it is “not unheard of”.
“It’s not out of the ordinary. Some temperatures will be in the low-to-mid 30s this week, which is pretty darn unusual.”
He added the most unusual aspect of this streak of warm weather is the “consecutive days” it is running for.
“This may last, particularly for the North Island, right through the weekend and perhaps even into next week.”
What about Christmas?
In a couple of weeks, Brandolino said the country will experience a wet period, which makes the weather forecast for Christmas Day unclear at this stage.
“It’s a bit murky right now … there will be a wet period in mid-December. We’re hoping that kind of leaves and exits stage right before another period of settled weather emerges. Whether or not that arrives in time for Christmas or is a little bit after Christmas, I think that’s the question mark.”