Tauranga has retained its title of the sunniest main centre, but the city has a new less welcome title - the wettest.
The city enjoyed 2271 sunshine hours last year - well down on the 2414 it enjoyed the previous year.
And although the city was still the sunniest of the five main centres, it dropped significantly in the national rankings.
In 2010, Tauranga was second only to Whakatane, which recorded just 147 hours more. But last year the city dropped to sixth place, behind Nelson, Lake Tekapo, Whakatane, Blenheim and Takaka.
Tauranga had its sunniest September ever, with 231 sunshine hours recorded.
Niwa's annual climate summary of 2011 shows a year of extremes for the Western Bay - especially for rain.
The region was not alone - annual rainfall totals for the year were also above normal in parts of Northland, Auckland, Coromandel, Nelson and Central Otago.
Tauranga recorded a total 1698mm of rain - making it the 15th wettest place in the country, and the wettest of the five main centres.
January 28 saw the wettest day in Tauranga since records began, with 174mm falling.
The mean temperature for the year in Tauranga was 15.7C - the 10th warmest in the country and the third warmest since records began.
Leigh was the warmest with a mean temperature of 16.7C.
Te Puke also had an extreme year, recording its warmest year since records began in 1973.
The kiwifruit capital also recorded its third highest mean maximum temperature - 19.4C - and its third highest mean minimum temperature (9.9C).
Te Puke sweltered in a temperature of 31.2C on February 5 - making it the fourth hottest day in the town since 1973.
On February 4 the overnight low dropped only to 20.8C - the second highest minimum temperature for the town.
But Te Puke also experienced extreme minimum temperatures - on August 16 it dropped to -2.2C, the second coldest since records began.
Te Puke also had an extremely wet year - 2388mm fell, making it the sixth wettest place in New Zealand and the second wettest year on record for the town.
Te Puke experienced record high monthly rainfalls in January and December (425mm and 413mm).
On January 28 175mm of rain fell in one day - the second highest one-day rainfall since records began.
Tauranga and the Western Bay rated more than a few mentions in Niwa's review of the year's major weather events across the country, including the January 29 rainfall which saw tracks on and around Mauao damaged by slips.
That day also saw sections of SH2 in Tauranga affected by surface flooding, and motel units at Waihi Beach had to be evacuated because of flooding.
On March 27, a deluge popped stormwater manhole covers in Tauranga and flooded streets.
A month later, slips closed more tracks on Mauao - some which were still closed after the January storm. The same day, McLaren Falls Park was closed for a few hours because of high winds and tree damage.
On May 2, heavy rain caused surface flooding in many areas of the Western Bay, and slips on SH33 near Paengaroa and on No3 Rd Te Puke. Nine days later, a huge slip in Omokoroa left a house near the edge of a cliff.
Snow was reported from the Kaimai Ranges in July, when the country experienced a big chill.
2011 highlights
Tauranga's mean temperature for the year: 15.7C - 1.1C above average.
Tauranga sunshine hours: 2271 - near normal.
Rainfall: 1698mm - above normal.