Rain total for year to date already a record, with three months still to go

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

After weeks of dry, September returned to the year’s unfavourite flavour of weather -—wet, wet, wet.

The month ends with a rainfall total of more than twice the September normal figure.

The total stood at almost 180 millimetres yesterday, against the 30-year average of 71mm.

Three days of downpour from the 24th brought to an end the two-month dry spell which started on July 22.

Those three days brought Gisborne 153mm, and made this year the wettest on record since 1879, with three months still to go.

Based on figures supplied by the MetService, the rain total to date for 2023 is now around 1719mm.

Despite the rain, the month is ending with temperatures almost a degree and a half above normal.

As of yesterday, daily maximum temperatures were running at 18.9 degrees — 1.8 degrees above the 30-year average (1991 to 2020).

It has also been warmer than usual at night, but not by quite so much.

The overnight minimum has averaged over 8.4 degrees — still over a degree warmer than the 30-year average of 7.3.

There were still some chilly mornings — eight where the ground temperature was zero or below.

Needless to say, the heavy rain period cut the amount of sunshine, with the month probably ending a bit short of the 30-year average of 189.4 hours of sun.

For those looking forward to a swim, the sea is still cooler than normal off local beaches — 13.8 degrees yesterday, against the average of 14.2 for the time of year.

What lies ahead? Warmer and drier weather, according to the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa).

Niwa’s three-month outlook for October to the end of December forecasts below-average rainfall for the Gisborne region.

It also forecasts above average temperatures.

Niwa joins overseas agencies in saying El Nino has arrived, and says over the next three months “dramatic temperature swings are likely, with periods of unseasonal warmth, likely followed by sharply colder southerlies”.

Niwa also warns of “above normal wind strength, with periods of potentially damaging winds”.