The weather around the country swung from extreme to extreme last month.
On most days - 22 out of the 31 - there was a thunderstorm somewhere in New Zealand.
In the first three weeks of the month, there were thunderstorms on all but two days, said Jim Salinger, of
the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.
The thunderstorms frequently brought localised flooding; Wellington suffered a once-in-100-years deluge on January 10.
In many eastern regions, from Hawkes Bay to Canterbury, including the western Bay of Plenty and parts of Wellington, rainfall was at least double the norm.
More than four times the average fell along the Kaikoura Coast. But Fiordland, southern and western Southland and Northland were much drier than usual.
Some parts of Canterbury broke rainfall records. The Christchurch Botanic Gardens recorded its highest January rainfall in more than 135 years.
When it came to sunshine, the country was roughly divided on a west-east basis. New Plymouth recorded 310 hours, its highest January total since 1928, and Christchurch managed only 169 hours, one of its lowest totals.
Dr Salinger said the climate pattern was dominated by more anticyclones to the far south of New Zealand and more depressions than usual in the north Tasman Sea, resulting in frequent easterly winds.
Extremes of the month included:
* Hokitika airport had 481 lightning flashes on January 2, and 937 flashes during the first four days of the month.
* Thunderstorms, lightning, torrential rain and hail lashed Christchurch on January 5.
* Thunderstorms over Wellington dropped 52mm of rain in an hour on January 10.
- NZPA
nzherald.co.nz/weather
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