NZ Weather Forum

Thunder081 wrote: ↑Fri 31/08/2018 22:18

Saw your interview do you still get up on the roof?

No. I'm not allowed to.

Anyway, only 34.4mm for the month with the maximum being 18.6C on the 16th.
18 frosts were recorded.

August 2018 was another generally mild winter month...


Some very preliminary August 2018 figures for the main centres:
Note that NIWA's Mangere temps still appear to be way too low compared to nearby sites.

Edit: Amended Ruakura figures.

Aug rainfall was 29.8mm - min temp of -3.5deg on the 19th and a high 20deg on 27th

Alexandra for Aug
Rainfall 11mm
Min -4.8 19th
Max 18.5 26th
Average temp 5.2

I'll put the Niwa 2018 Winter summary here. https://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/niwa.co.nz ... r_2018.pdf

A near absence of low level snowfall however I think the ski fields managed a good season. There was no major snow event this Winter which is highly unusual.

spwill wrote: ↑Wed 05/09/2018 08:15 A near absence of low level snowfall however I think the ski fields managed a good season. There was no major snow event this Winter which is highly unusual.

There were a couple of low levels falls in the South Island in June, though I don't think they reached sea-level.

200m on southerly aspects in the Cheviot Hills in the early June event was the lowest the snow level got in Canterbury as far as I noted.

A real lack of frosts in general in Chch, there were a few but they were sparse.

I observed about 5 ground frosts here this Winter and no soft plant damage( subtropicals).

No frost in Leamington, Cambridge since July 4 and only two significant ones for whole winter min -2.3C. Plants like griselinia lucida almost zero leaf damage which not the norm.

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We have the likes of Kentia Palm, Puka and Dracaena growing in our garden.

Spotted recently someone has a Kentia in the middle of their lawn, with no cover, down here. Really pushing their luck. Streetview shows it has been there since late 2015. Last really hard frosts were July 2015 so if planted the following spring it has had an easier run so far.

Snow on my vehicle the morning of the 6th June

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spwill wrote: ↑Wed 05/09/2018 12:44 We have the likes of Kentia Palm, Puka and Dracaena growing in our garden.

The Puka is one NZ native that does not tolerate frost. -1C air frost will wipe them out. Only good for coastal zones.

NZstorm wrote: ↑Wed 05/09/2018 17:26

spwill wrote: ↑Wed 05/09/2018 12:44 We have the likes of Kentia Palm, Puka and Dracaena growing in our garden.

The Puka is one NZ native that does not tolerate frost. -1C air frost will wipe them out. Only good for coastal zones.

The Pukas grow large around here but the possums seem to love eating them

NZstorm wrote: ↑Wed 05/09/2018 17:26

spwill wrote: ↑Wed 05/09/2018 12:44 We have the likes of Kentia Palm, Puka and Dracaena growing in our garden.

The Puka is one NZ native that does not tolerate frost. -1C air frost will wipe them out. Only good for coastal zones.

I tried them at home back in early 2000's and they grew like mad through summer but died stone dead their first winter. Here's one however, in Lake Rd, Hamilton from streetview Jan 2010, only months after the hard frosts of 2009. It's still there now and looks fine.

Like a lot of frost tender plants if they can be nursed along for the first ten years they are better able to handle cold. Bit like a 50 year Mandarin not far from here, i went and had a look at it a few weeks after a -15deg frost, zero frost damage.

The taller plants can grow the less vulnerable they are to frost.

I noticed a radio report that said Tauranga was the warmest centre this winter. But actually Auckland was. Auckland airports mean winter temperature was 11.7C and Tauranga Airport 11.2C.

Auckland's mean max for the 3 months was 15.4, min 8.0. Tauranga 15.3C and 7.1C

Richard wrote: ↑Fri 07/09/2018 17:52 Bit like a 50 year Mandarin not far from here, i went and had a look at it a few weeks after a -15deg frost, zero frost damage.

Citrus is more of a temperate zone plant and actually quite hardy. Lemons seem to grow quite well in Timaru.

NZstorm wrote: ↑Sat 08/09/2018 09:10 I noticed a radio report that said Tauranga was the warmest centre this winter. But actually Auckland was. Auckland airports mean winter temperature was 11.7C and Tauranga Airport 11.2C.

Auckland's mean max for the 3 months was 15.4, min 8.0. Tauranga 15.3C and 7.1C

Agree with those figures. As previously mentioned, I compared NIWA's Mangere temp anomalies for the winter months with nearby official sites like Akld Aero, Pukekoe and Admore Aero, and it seems fairly obvious that Mangere has been running about 0.6-0.7C below what it should normally be, and has been since about mid-May. I'm surprised NIWA hasn't picked this up yet, so I might flick them an email. Usually whenever there's problem with Mangere (and there's been a few), NIWA will use Akld Aero instead.

NZstorm wrote: ↑Sat 08/09/2018 09:18

Richard wrote: ↑Fri 07/09/2018 17:52 Bit like a 50 year Mandarin not far from here, i went and had a look at it a few weeks after a -15deg frost, zero frost damage.

Citrus is more of a temperate zone plant and actually quite hardy. Lemons seem to grow quite well in Timaru.

Turning into a gardening thread here yes some citrus varieties can be temperate, notably the Meyer lemon being the toughest for us in the south, the hardest is the Mandarin and limes the softest. But then there are tropical citrus varieties as well that wouldn't grow down here.

NZstorm wrote: ↑Sat 08/09/2018 09:18 Citrus is more of a temperate zone plant and actually quite hardy. Lemons seem to grow quite well in Timaru.

We have an amazing lemon tree here in Geraldine, best we've ever had on our properties we have owned..

Mmmmmm, I do wonder sometimes what data the Metservice uses to come up with these predictions? In the end it couldn’t have been further from the reality of what happened...

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zeal ... rvice.html

Bradley wrote: ↑Sun 30/09/2018 10:27 Mmmmmm, I do wonder sometimes what data the Metservice uses to come up with these predictions? In the end it couldn’t have been further from the reality of what happened...

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zeal ... rvice.html

Someone got over-excited after the cold end to May. As I recall things, their monthly outlooks changed the song after June … but I can't find them to check.