May 2023 produced generally average temperatures for the month, which started pleasantly mild and became cooler as the end of the autumn approached.
While five frosts were recorded during the month, these were mostly light with the heaviest frost of -3C occurring on Tuesday, May 13.
The warmest day saw the mercury rise to 20.3C on Friday, May 2.
The last few days of May 2023 were very foggy, with the fog not really lifting until late morning.
The month was mostly cloudy and sunless and the top wind gust of 57km/h was recorded at the Taupō Airport on May 20.
Ahead of us now is three months of a Taupō winter and it is likely to be very cold, with a predominance of westerly and south-westerly conditions brought about by the areas of high pressure and polar frontal systems that sweep up from the Southern Ocean and the Tasman Sea.
The high pressures should produce dry, cold and sunny conditions while the frontal systems will provide wet, windy and wintry weather in between.
Statistics for the last week of May
Date Max Min Mean Frost Rain Pressure
May 28 15.8 7.1 11.4 3.0 1025
May 29 15.6 9.9 12.7 28.5 1021
May 30 16.5 9.3 12.9 4.0 1020
May 31 14.1 5.2 9.6 0.5 1016
Total for month 254mm
May Averages:
15.7 5.3 10.6 118.6
