Fine start to spring, mercury tops 20 degrees

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Gisborne and Coast residents enjoyed a fine, clear day to welcome spring yesterday, with the mercury reaching more than three degrees above normal.

Mid-afternoon the day warmed to over 20.2 degrees, and more in some places.

The 1991 to 2020 average daily maximum for September is 17.1 degrees.

Yesterday was the first time thermometers have reached a daytime high of over 20 degrees since June 3.

So far this year the daytime highs have all been above 10 degrees, except for July 27 when the mercury reached only 9.8.

There is an additional note of interest, to show the wide variation in weather records, after a record dry August.

A search of all the available local records has turned up a figure which demonstrates the wild swings in the weather.

Last month had just 16.5mm of rain, but data going back to 1878 shows the other extreme is the wettest August on record, with 345.6mm recorded at Gisborne’s harbour in 1898.