Coldest temperatures of the year for central, lower North Island

Saturday, 15 August 2020

Banks Peninsula is a beautiful spot, even in winter.

Parts of the central and lower North Island recorded their coldest temperatures of the year overnight.

They included Taupo, which dropped to -4.1 degrees Celsius, Palmerston North that got to -2.9C, Porirua at -1.9C and Kelburn in Wellington at 1.9C, MetService meteorologist Tom Adams said.

The coldest temperature recorded by MetService overnight was -8.7C at a weather station on the Desert Road, while Pukaki airfield near Twizel dropped to -8.2C and Mt Cook Airport fell to -7.4C.

The temperature dropped to -1.9C in Porirua overnight – the area’s coldest temperature for 2020.

Despite temperatures being the coldest of year so far in parts of Wellington, the capital was still warmer than some other main centres.

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Hamilton dropped to -3.5C, Christchurch to -4.1C and Dunedin to -5.2C, MetService data shows. In the wider Auckland area, Whenuapai was down to 3.9C, while Upper Hutt fell to around -3.5C.

Adams said it was not unusual for inland parts of the South Island to get very cold temperatures in winter when conditions included light winds and clear skies.

“They get their coldest temperatures when there’s a big high pressure over the area and snow on the ground reflecting heat away,” Adams said.

While Wellington rarely had snow, the coldest temperature in the capital in the past decade was recorded in mid-August 2011 when Wellington had its heaviest snowfall in 40 years.

None of the places that had their lowest temperatures of the year were near record lows, except Porirua, which came close but has only had a weather station for 2-½ years, Adams said.

A little cloud around Northland and the East Coast had kept those parts of the country a bit warmer overnight, while the central and lower North Island had clear skies under high pressure.

MetService is expecting overnight Saturday to also be cold in many areas. Its forecasting morning frosts on Sunday in the west of the North Island from Auckland to Kapiti, including the Central High Country, and for Coromandel Peninsula and Bay of Plenty.

A frosty start is also expected in Canterbury, Otago and Southland.

Central Auckland could get down to 2C, Hamilton to -2C, Tauranga 3C, Rotorua -1C, Palmerston North -1C, Christchurch central to 0C and Timaru to -1C.