November 2015 saw strong El Ni̱o conditions continue in the Tropical Pacific Рcheck out some of the latest weather and climate facts and figures from the month just gone!

Overall, the month was characterised by air pressures which were slightly higher than normal over New Zealand, with lower pressures than normal present to the south of the country. All data provided by the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research.

It was a dry month for most of the South Island, where rainfall was typically below normal (50-79% of the November normal) or well below normal (< 50% of the November normal).
Southern, western and northern parts of the North Island also received below normal or well below normal rainfall.
In contrast, rainfall in Hawke’s Bay, western Waikato and southern Auckland was above normal (120-149% of the November normal).

Temperatures

November temperatures were near average (within 0.50°C of the November average) or below average (0.51 to 1.20°C below the November average) for most parts of the country.
Below average temperatures were observed most prominently in western and southern parts of the North Island. Parts of central Northland observed above average temperatures (0.51 to 1.20°C above the November average).
The nation-wide average temperature in November 2015 was 13.6°C (0.1°C below the 1981-2010 November average from NIWA’s seven station temperature series which begins in 1909)1.

Soil Moisture

As of the start of December, soil moisture levels were below normal for the time of year for extensive areas of New Zealand, but especially for Canterbury, Nelson, Marlborough, Wellington, Wairarapa, Taranaki, southern Waikato and Northland.
Soil moisture levels were above normal in Gisborne, which resulted from the wetter than normal month that was observed in the region. Likewise, soil moisture levels were above normal in southern Fiordland and Stewart Island.

Sunshine

The majority of the country received near normal (90-109% of the November normal) or above normal (110-125% of the November normal) sunshine hours for November.
It was particularly sunny for eastern areas of the South Island and central areas of the North Island, with well above normal sunshine (> 125%) observed in Taumarunui, Cheviot, Dunedin and Balclutha.

Highlights

• The highest temperature was 31.7°C, observed at Hastings on 26 November.
• The lowest temperature was -5.6°C, observed at Snowdon (Canterbury) on 5 November.
• The highest 1-day rainfall was 166 mm, recorded at Mount Cook Village on 26 November.
• The highest wind gust was 170 km/hr, observed at Puysegur Point on 27 November.
• Of the six main centres in November 2015, Auckland was the warmest, Dunedin was the coolest, Christchurch was the driest, Hamilton was the wettest, Tauranga was the sunniest and Wellington was the cloudiest.
• Of the available, regularly reporting sunshine observation sites, the sunniest four locations so far in 2015 (1 January to 30 November) are: Blenheim (2519 hours), Whakatane (2476 hours), Appleby (2456 hours) and Lake Tekapo (2423 hours).

– Photo: Chris Johnson