A crazy year for NZ's weather

NZPA

At this time of year, it is easy to be blinded by the summer sun and forget all about the crazy stuff the weather gods threw at us during the year.

And some of it was quite crazy. May was winter, August was spring, October was simply freezing, and summer came late.

While the rest of the world had its share of topsy-turvy weather amid endless debate on the reality or otherwise of global warming, statistics show that 2009 was the fifth warmest year for the planet in the past 130 years, with 2005 the warmest and 2007 the second warmest.

For New Zealand, the first decade of the new millennium was the warmest since records began.

However, the stand-out features of the year for New Zealanders weather-wise were not about the warm, but more about the cold.

In May, we were plunged straight into winter with temperatures well below average over much of the country and many places experiencing record lows.

Metservice forecaster Bob McDavitt said freezing conditions were caused by a number of low pressure systems lingering just east of New Zealand, held there by a blocking anticyclone in the mid South Pacific Ocean.

This resulted in more southerlies than normal over the country.

But it is not always a bad thing, as another blocking anticyclone fed northerly winds over New Zealand in August, creating a false spring and the feeling that the worst was over.

That was until October arrived. It was the coldest October in 64 years, with troughs held near the country generating all-time record low temperatures in many areas and exceptionally late snowfalls.

And the culprit? Yes, yet another blocking anticyclone.

The highs and lows of the year's weather, as determined by Mr McDavitt were:

January

11: Flooding hits Gisborne area, golf ball-sized hail hits the Kaimai Ranges, and a waterspout tosses over a yacht in the Hauraki Gulf.

February

8: The hottest day of the year is recorded at Culverden, North Canterbury, where the mercury tipped 38degC.

20-23: Severe rain from the remains of Tropical Cyclone Innis brings surface flooding to parts of Wellington, Levin and Palmerston North. In Tauranga, the annual kapa haka festival is washed out for the first time in 36 years.

27-28: Heavy rain forces the cancellation of the annual summer concert at Mission Estate in Hawke's Bay.

March:

5-7: Storm takes out trees and powerlines as it crosses Northland, Auckland, and the Bay of Plenty.

11: Snow coats the Remarkables, near Queenstown.

April

9: Snow coats the Southern Alps

27: Heavy rain causes flooding in Westland, forcing homes to be evacuated. About 120 trampers are airlifted from the Milford Track.

May

8-10: Snow traps tourists on the Lindis Pass in Otago.

17: Tornado hits Taranaki. Flooding in Canterbury.

19: Snow to low levels in Otago.

21: Snow and ice trap motorists on the Central Plateau.

30: Snow to low levels in Canterbury and around Dannevirke.

June

28-30: Heavy rain, strong winds and thunderstorms in the north and north-east of the country. Civil Defence emergency declared in Gisborne as rivers rise.

July

11-13: High winds and rain affect Northland

23-24: Flooding, slips, and rail line closures as heavy rain and winds sweep across Wellington and eastern North Island.

August

1-2: Avalanche closes Milford Rd and takes 10 days to clear.

31: More flooding and rail line closures in Wellington region.

September

5-6: Record frosts during a slow-moving anticyclone

14: Extreme north-west winds push temperatures as high as 29degC in eastern South Island.

24: Deep low brings snow to low levels in northern Wairarapa and southern Hawke's Bay.

October

4-5: Another deep low brings snow to low levels in Hawke's Bay and the Central Plateau. Estimated to be the heaviest October snowfall in the area since 1967, it killed thousands of lambs, closed roads, and stranded hundreds of travellers.

8-9: Third low brings snow to Otago, Canterbury, and Marlborough.

November

13-15 and 26-28: High winds hit the country, creating havoc.

December

14: Severe thunderstorms hit Canterbury, with hails as large as golf balls damaging crops.

25: Glorious summer weather arrives it time for holidaymakers everywhere except Wellington and the south of the South Island. Forecasters say it is the most settled summery Xmas weather in a decade.