Hot December for Bay of Plenty, Northland

Warm, sunny Northland and the Bay of Plenty were the places to be last month, judging by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research's (Niwa) December climate summary.

While most of the country made do with average temperatures, Northland and the Bay of Plenty were blessed with above normal sunshine hours and record high temperatures in some areas.

It was good news for beachgoers, but farmers in Northland were hurt by an ongoing dry spell, said Niwa climate scientist Andrew Tait.

"The rain and soil moisture in Northland has been very low compared with what they normally get for December," he said.

"Farmers are starting to see a decline in milk production due to decreased pasture production up there."

Kerikeri, renowned for its orchards, recorded only 24mm of rain -- 23 per cent of its normal December rainfall and the third lowest since records began.

The central North Island, southern Hawke's Bay, Wairarapa, Canterbury and Otago were also drier than normal, while the south and west of the South Island were wetter than average.

Sunshine levels were above average in most of the country, with North Canterbury and the north and east of the North Island recording sunshine levels well above normal.

Average temperatures were recorded in most of the country, while people in traditional holidays spots in the Bay of Plenty, Coromandel and Northland relaxed in higher than average temperatures.

Residents of Hawke's Bay, Kapiti, South Canterbury, the West Coast and Southland were not so lucky, with lower than normal temperatures throughout the month.

The highest temperature of 32degC was recorded in Dunedin, while Whakatane had the most clear-sky days, with 300 sunshine hours.

Of the main centres, Tauranga was hottest and sunniest, with a mean temperature of 18.4degC, while Hamilton was the wettest, with 80mm of rain.

The weather throughout December had been typical of El Nino conditions, Dr Tait said.

"We expected to see slightly enhanced south-westerlies, particularly over the South Island, and we've certainly seen that."

The dryness to the north and east was expected, but there could be welcome relief for Northland farmers, Dr Tait said.

"It's not atypical for Northland to get a decent rainfall - a big storm comes through from the tropics and completely drenches the place.

"They'll be looking out for those rains, that's for sure. But you can get too much rain when you're looking for a break in the dryness."

A tropical storm brought "more problems than it's worth" when it lashed the North Island during three days in early December, causing localised flooding in parts of Auckland, the North Shore and Waikato.

"That kind of system that comes out of the subtropics has got a lot of moisture, so they're potentially hazardous with flash-flooding," Dr Tait said.

Other extremes in last month's weather included hailstones as large as 3cm in diameter in Canterbury, and a tornado 70km north of Christchurch, both on December 14.

Two days earlier, high winds tore roofs off houses and toppled trees in Kaikoura, while gusts of up to 182km/h were recorded at Cape Turnagain in the Tararua District.

- NZPA