Heavy rain during 2022's winter closed roads and flooded cars, including on SH10 north of Kāeo. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Heavy rain during 2022's winter closed roads and flooded cars, including on SH10 north of Kāeo. Photo / Peter de Graaf
The highest August minimum temperature ever recorded in New Zealand is just one of a plethora of weather records smashed during winter 2022 in Northland.
In Kaitāia on August 19 — the same day the city's rural hinterland vanished underwater and slips wiped out the highway through Mangamuka Gorge —the mercury never dipped below 18.3C, setting a new national record.
In Whangārei, a new record was set on August 10 when the official temperature hit 23C, the city's highest winter maximum to date.
Both Kaitāia and Kerikeri notched up their highest mean winter temperatures on record (13.9C and 13.3C, respectively).
Surprisingly, given the torrential rain dumped by August's "atmospheric river", no winter rainfall records were set in Northland.
Kerikeri did, however, record its third-highest winter rainfall with a total of 1103 millimetres. That's almost three times the town's long-term average.
WINTER 2022 BY NUMBERS
■ 18.3C: Lowest temperature in Kaitaia on August 19, NZ's warmest daily minimum August temperature on record. ■ 23C: Temperature in Whangārei on August 10, the city's highest winter maximum on record. ■ 13.9C: Mean winter temperature in Kaitaia, record warmest for the Far North town. ■ 1103mm: Kerikeri's winter rainfall, almost three times average and its third-highest on record.
According to the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa), which collated the data, winter 2022 was overall New Zealand's warmest and wettest on record.
And spring may follow suit, as a heavy rain warning was issued by MetService for Northland. North and east of Kaitāia down to Mangawhai can expect 50 to 70mm of rain between 9am to 5pm on Monday.
Strong north to northeasterly winds that may approach severe gales in exposed places are forecast to hit the region from 11am on Monday to 5pm.
This winter marked the third year in a row that winter temperature records were broken.
The previous record for warmest winter was set in 2021, and before that, in 2020. New Zealand has never before recorded three record-warm winters in a row.
Sisters Isla, 4, and Olivia Simpson, 3, enjoy a puddle on their parents' Hukerenui farm after a downpour in July. Photo / Tania Whyte
According to Niwa forecaster Nava Fedaeff, reasons for the record-breaking weather included higher than normal air pressure to the east of the country.
That high pressure, one of the characteristics of the La Nina weather pattern, allowed more northerly air flows than usual for winter, bringing warm, moist air and a succession of low-pressure systems from the north.
Fedaeff said climate change had contributed to winter's record rain because warmer air could hold more moisture, leading to higher rainfall.
A marine heatwave off the New Zealand coast during winter was thought to have caused the deaths of large numbers of sea birds, penguins especially, which have washed up on Northland beaches.
A marine heatwave that caused the deaths of large numbers of penguins, like these found by Ōkaihau's Ruben Trimble, was another unwelcome feature of winter 2022. Photo / Peter de Graaf
■ Whangārei's second-highest mean winter air temperature (13.4C). ■ Whangārei's highest mean maximum winter air temperature (17.4C). ■ Kerikeri's second-highest mean maximum winter air temperature (17.4C). ■ Kerikeri's third-highest daily maximum for winter (June 1, 21.3C). ■ Whangārei's highest daily minimum for winter (August 19, 17.6C). ■ Dargaville's third-strongest winter wind gust (June 13, 106km/h).
The wettest place in New Zealand in winter 2022 was Arthur's Pass, with a whopping 2040mm — more than two metres — of rain. The highest one-day rainfall was at Aoraki/Mt Cook Village on July 18, with 371mm.
Another unusual feature of winter 2022 was its colourful sunrises and sunsets.
Fedaeff said the spectacular skies were due to unusual increases in aerosols about 20-25 kilometres above New Zealand.
The aerosols, or fine solid particles, were thought to have been blasted into the stratosphere by the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcanic eruption in January.
