The latest statistics show what we all pretty much thought of February and yes it was indeed gloomy for quite a chunk of the country.

It was very cloudy from Hamilton down to Dunedin with low sunshine figures as a result. It was the dullest February month on record for Blenheim, Dannervirke and Stratford. 

Despite the grey skies it was dry to very dry for Wairarapa,Kaikoura and North Canterbury which suggests the frequent cloud cover delivered very little moisture apart from some drizzly patches.

In the far sou’ west corner of the Mainland, Fiordland was extremely dry and rather warm as it’s sheltered away from the easterly conditions.

Temperatures in the east were cool for most of the month with Christchurch failing to top 30 degrees for the month and the entire summer.Canterbury was more than a degree cooler than what’s usually expected for February.

The hottest temperature of the month went to Hastings with 30 degrees and the highest one day rainfall total went to North Egmont with 275mm of rain.

Of the 6 main centres, Auckland was the warmest,Tauranga the sunniest, Christchurch the driest and Dunedin was the wettest, cloudiest and coolest.

Story by WeatherWatch.co.nz weather analyst Richard Green

Stats courtesy of NIWA

Image by ThinkStock of a cloud covered beach