July brought a cold start followed by a mild month for Whanganui

Cold rain and sleet delayed and Air Chathams flight early in the month but temperatures climbed to give Whanganui some warmer days during July. Photo / Supplied

Despite the heaviest rain of the year falling on July 21, Whanganui had below average rainfall for the month.

July got off to a cold start in Whanganui when heavy snow closedthe Desert Rd during the first week.

It didn't snow in Whanganui but a weak thunderstorm passed through, dropping rain, hail and sleet on the city early on July 9 and the overnight temperature fell to below 2C.

The weather delayed the first Air Chathams morning flight out of Whanganui because of runway conditions at the airport.

Metservice meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said strong winds were also a feature of the early part of the month.

"Wind speeds of 37km and gusts of 80km [were] recorded at Whanganui Airport on July 2," she said.

"However your windiest day was on July 23 when there were persistent wind speeds of 70km throughout the day."

A low-pressure system brought high cloud and mild temperatures with highs ranging from 13C to 18C during the middle of the month.

Later in the month, a northwesterly brought some of the heaviest rain of the year with 11.4mm recorded in one hour on July 21.

"The rainfall for the month was 83.8mm, which is below the average of 91.1mm for July," Makgabutlane said.

The highest temperature for Whanganui during the month was 18.4C on July 19 and 20.

"The highest recorded July temperature since 1988 is 20C so that was pretty good."

Whanganui is experiencing high cloud and northeasterly winds and a high of 17C is forecast for today.Winds are expected to turn northwest with decreasing temperatures and rain forecast throughout the weekend.