Can you beat us? Yeah, nah

Wednesday, 24 January 2024

Long suffering Wellingtonians have been handed some hot weather and are making the most of it, it seems. (file photo)

People in the capital are a little smug. If you can’t beat Wellington on a good day -- you can’t even come close to Wellington during a good summer.

And we’re having a good summer. We even have the data to prove it. MetService meteorologist John Law said January has been hotter than average so far.

It has been drier, too. The last 30 days has seen 51.8mm of rainfall in Wellington, with the last real rainfall we experienced being on January 6, at 14.8mm of rain recorded in Kelburn by MetService.

For context, in January 2023 Wellington experienced 115.8mm of rainfall -- however, this was well above the average of 77.1mm. Before that, January 2022 only experienced 17mm the entire month.

Wellington Anniversary weekend had record high temperatures, with Monday hitting 29.6C -- the hottest January day ever recorded. Sunday was almost as hot, hitting 28.8C.

Last year, January had an average high of 25.2C, and in January 2022 there was average high of 27.1C.

The Post dared to call January 10 Wellington’s sweatiest day of the summer -- which, at 28C, was predicted by MetService to be the hottest day of the season so far.

Ha! Pōneke laughs at The Post’s hubris. The temperature just kept on climbing.

The long weekend saw locals trek out to beaches to bask in the sun. Ice-creams flew off scoops onto awaiting cones like sugary bowling balls. And the wind? Well, it’s just free air conditioning, isn’t it? A welcome break from the humidity.

Wellingtonians are allowed to be a little smug about our weather. After three months of what some people call “shitsville”, a hot January feels like being awarded a participation certificate at the end of a school year after you were suspended for three days for being caught fist-fighting behind the bike sheds.

But will it last?

Data provided by MetService shows that, despite temperatures continuing to climb since December, Tuesday saw a sudden dip to 23C.

MetService meteorologist Alec Holden warned The Post on Monday that cooler weather was on the horizon.

Evening showers have been forecast for Tuesday evening by MetService, which will clear up by Wednesday morning.

Wednesday’s temperatures have been predicted to drop to 19C for the capital, and while Thursday and Friday may reach 22C, rain and strong northerly winds are forecast for the start of the weekend.

Is Pōneke’s golden summer over? Seems like the beginning of the end. Ah well, it was fun while it lasted. And we probably need the water.