Rain on summer parade

Karen Olsen fled Auckland weather. Photo / Doug Sherring

Sunseekers who felt ripped off over the holidays had good reason - there were only half the normal hours of sunshine.

And if the forecast is correct, the togs might stay in the bottom of the beach bag for the rest of summer. The temperatures for the next three months are predicted to be lower than for the same period last year.

TVNZ weather presenter Karen Olsen knew the weather would be dismal in the upper North Island so escaped to a more settled spot.

"I had five weeks off and went to Waitarere Beach by Foxton, because I knew we were going to have a La Nina summer. Of all the places, that was going to be better than Auckland," Olsen said.

"In a La Nina, there are a lot of northeasterlies and moist air, and I knew Auckland, Northland and Coromandel would have rubbish weather so I ran away."

But on her return, Olsen had to deliver the bad news - night after night of grim forecasts.

"Even when there was a high it was one of those dirty big highs with all sorts of rubbish - low cloud and drizzle with it. What a fizzer," Olsen said.

Andrew Tait at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research said people would notice the difference in the average temperature. This month would be almost a degree cooler than last year's 24.6C average.

"Of course in that period there will be days that are a lot hotter and some cooler days, but people will notice that February was warmer last year," Tait said.

Three ex-tropical cyclones hit New Zealand last month, bringing torrential rainfall and a nightmare for campers. Tauranga had the wettest start to the year since 1898, and was pelted with 347mm of rain.

And now that office workers are looking longingly out of the window at the sunshine, the reality is a forecast for a cooler early-autumn pattern. There will be no late summer.