Mild May makes for warm start to winter

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

The district is having a warm start to winter, with a mild May producing above-normal temperatures for the time of year.

Daytime highs over the month have been running at almost 1.3 degrees warmer than the 17.7 degree average for the 30 years 1990-2021.

Night and early morning temperatures have been even warmer, at almost two degrees above the 30-year average.

May will end close to the month’s average for sunshine (151.9 hours) but will be short on the 30-year rainfall average of 91 millimetres.

Despite the rain easing back, the ground is wet over most of the region, with only the top of East Cape surprisingly drier than normal for the time of year.

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research daily climate maps show most of the district’s soils are at field capacity.

After all the rain earlier in the year, two spots are still showing a soil moisture surplus — the hills south of Gisborne and the Whareratas, and the area around Tolaga Bay.

The region’s coastal strip has had 105 to 115 percent of normal sunshine, but Niwa’s maps show the inland hill country has had average to below average sun.

Niwa’s May to July outlook picked the above-average temperatures, but it remains to be seen what happens with rainfall, soil moisture and stream flows going into winter. Niwa expected these to be normal.