WeatherBlog

1 November: Well, thank goodness October's over! What a miserable month! Average temps were about 2.5 C below normal, we only got 81% of our expected sunshine, and we received just over 3 times our average amount of rain for the month! Yep, 320% of normal rainfall. And even windspeeds were up for the month, mostly from the S to SSW. Two cold snaps, the first on the 4th/5th, then again on the 9th, brought snow to the ranges and foothills, with the Napier/Taupo and Gentle Annie roads closed, and motorists stranded. So here's hoping that spring gets its act together in November!

1 September: September's figures make interesting reading - a pretty ordinary start, then a nice fine and settled spell in the middle of the month, then unsettled and cooler conditions to finish. Overall, it was a cooler than normal September, despite normal sunshine hours. Rainfall was well up, at 132% of normal, and windspeeds were quieter than normal for the month.

31 August: The monthly figures for August are now posted on the Monthly Data and 2009 YTD pages. It was a very average month, with all values falling just about bang on their means. The only events of real interest were the gales on the 27th and 31st, when some high windspeeds were logged. So I got my wish for a mild dry August - lets hope September follows suit!

10 August: As of tomorrow, the daily forecast produced here at HB Weather will cede place to the forecast provided by Metservice. The reason for this decision is that increasingly I am away from home, and therefore unable to provide a daily forecast. The Forecasts and Info page has been amended to show a link to the Metsevice page for Napier, with info about what it offers.

1 August: July's figures are now posted - a much kinder month, on the whole. Maximum temps stayed below the July mean, possibly due to rather cloudy conditions, but minimum temps were right on average. Rainfall was mercifully normal, and sunshine hours were down a little. A distinct "warm-up" occurred at the end of the month, with some very welcome mild days. Early lambs are out and about here in Puketapu, so spring is just a month away. Here's hoping for a dry and mild August!

22 July: I've finally got the data for June up on the Monthly Data and YTD pages. Due to a persistent server problem, I've had to create a whole new page for the 2009 YTD info. And while I was at it, I've overhauled the Forecasts and Info page - I hope you like the cleaner and tidier appearance. June was remarkable for being colder than normal, windier than normal, and with lower than nornmal sunshine hours. Altogether a pretty miserable month, much of which I was delighted to miss, being in Australia!

2 June: May's data is now up on the Monthly data page. It was a month remarkable for its cool temps, and windiness. The mean max and mean min temps were both significantly below normal, and the mean wind speed here at Puketapu was 1.6kph above normal.  The month was rounded out with a particularly nasty cold front, which brought a hailstorm to Puketapu on Sunday 31st, followed by a serious attempt to snow! It didn't quite make it, but it was a near run thing! The max temp for the day was just 8.5, and with the strong southerly, windchills hovered around freezing all day! 

2 May: The figures for April are now up on the Monthly Data page. The month was quite a bit cooler than normal, with a couple of cold nights, and the first of the year's ground frosts. It was also a dry month, with just 41% of our average rainfall arriving. Wind speeds and sunshine hours were normal.  The connection to Weather Underground appears to be holding up quite well (touch wood!), and a link to the Puketapu data can be found on the Forecasts and Info page.

7 Mar: A short but spectacular thunderstorm crossed Puketapu this afternoon, tracking from SW to NE. Light rain commenced around 1700, with the first thunder audible shortly afterward. By 1715 the rain had increased, and was steady and heavy, with strong thunderclaps and visible lightning flashes. Maximum intensity was reached at around 1730, with the storm almost directly overhead. The rain by now was torrential, with gutters overflowing and sheets of water running down the drive and down road outside. Visibility was at this point down to about 50 metres. The event raingauge here at HB Weather recorded a maximum instantaneous rainfall rate of 294mm/hr at 1730, the highest rainfall rate ever recorded here. By 1840 the rain was beginning to ease, and by 1900 had completely ceased.

1st Mar: At last - some useful rain! Here in Puketapu we recorded a total of 57.2mm for the whole rainfall event - not enough to break the drought, but perhaps enough to ease the high fire risk. And it was nice steady rain, except for one very brief but spectacular burst yesterday morning, when for several  moments the rainfall rate hit 111mm/hour! Today the sun returns, with a warm and rather muggy day forecast.

February's data is now displayed on the Monthly Data page, and makes interesting reading. Rainfall was well above average, thanks to yesterday's event, and sunshine hours were down due to quite a few cloudy days during the month.

2nd Feb:  January's figures have now been posted on the Monthly Data page. It was an exceptionally dry month, with only 29% of our average rainfall. The corollary of this was that there was lots of sunshine, 115% of average for the month. And on the 9th we simmered gently in 32 degrees of heat, but February has already eclipsed that!

Yesterday here at HB Weather in Puketapu, the maximum afternoon shade temp hit 35.1 C, one of the highest readings recorded here in our 8 years of operation! Needless to say, we had the aircon going full blast. And by contrast, today is quite mild, something of a relief, and it almost feels "cold"!

9th Jan: Phew! What a scorcher! The afternoon shade temp here in Puketapu reached 32.6 C, making this the hottest day this year so far, and also hotter than the hottest day in 2008. Most of the population of Puketapu headed for either the river or the pub..........!

The Graph pages will be updated in the next couple of days to show 2008 data vs means, and a new Puketapu Data YTD page will also be set up. If you would like to compare 2008 with previous years, please email or phone (see Contact Details page), and data for previous years can be forwarded to you, free of charge, of course!