Extreme Heat to End January and Feb

[Orion]

Summer doesn't feel quite the same without the roar of cicadas... where are they? We're in peak summer and have had one of the hottest days in years...

I noticed the sound of a cicada as I was driving through Oak Grove, Ashburton, last week.
Had been wondering when they were going to start up.
Love the sound

[Chris W]

Only 25C in Kaikõura but 84% humidity, so it's feeling warm out there. I see Hurunui is topping the charts at the moment on 32C.

Cicadas were in good voice in Hagley Park at the weekend.

[JP.]

32.5C On Jeffs station currently, been as high as 33.2c at 1pm. Last night Humidity was 92% today back to the usual Christchurch dry summer feel of 32%.

[Razor]

Hottest and coldest in NZ (Metservice.co.nz) currently just 10km apart...here comes the easterly huh?

[Dean.]

30 degrees with a pretty high dewpoint here

[Storm Struck]

31C here in west chch at the moment, light breeze from the south its those convergence days that are cranking up the temps.
The cicadas were in full pitch on the west coast and top of the south last week when i was on holiday up there, to the point when you jump in the car its dead silent like walking out of a 3 hour rock concert.
Been a couple chirping around here locally too.

[Richard]

Had no cicadas here so far, had a few last summer though.

Managed to reach 32.9 so far

[Razor]

Cicadas in Kumara last week were prolific and deafening

[einzack]

Lots of cicadas around Christchurch. Noticed lots of their carapaces on my run to work this morning.

[Richard]

Cicadas in Kumara last week were prolific and deafening

I couldnt live anywhere like that, a mate lives in the Blue Duck valley north of Kaikoura, they are so bad there that they hurt your ears.

[jamie]

I remember when living in Auckland the cicadas would be buzzing away in the domain right through the night. It was defining and stopped you being able to sleep.

Another warm one here today. 29.3 today but the few point is far better at 18.5 not bloody 22-23


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[Richard]

Temps now starting to drop from the high of 33.8deg.

[NZstorm]

Pukaki Airport upto 35C today! Dry rocky ground there so it heats up easily when winds are light.

There was a haze around Auckland today, will be smoke from across the Tasman.

[Richard]

Pukaki Airport upto 35C today! Dry rocky ground there so it heats up easily when winds are light.

Had wondered if the greening of this valley from dry land sheep farming to dairy may have moderated the summer temps, also adding to the humidity levels, the temperatures seen today were common and not unusual during summers 15+ years ago. As for the Meckenzie country, land clearing 150 years ago from native snow grasses to grazing grass species would have had a influence in pushing up temps. Wouldn't it be amazing to see the area in the native vegetation today .

[Richard]

There was a haze around Auckland today, will be smoke from across the Tasman.

No I dont reckon that would be smoke, its being pushed to the south of the SI at the moment.

[Storm Struck]

You should get a resident morepork or owl they love feasting on the cicadas, funny listening to them at night once in the Abel Tasman national park.
They all shut up fairly quickly when the morepork shot into the valley .
When i was in Karamea a few weeks ago even the sparrows were feasting on them.

Up to 32.3C maximum today, not bad for a swim in the local bays around lyttelton.
Any idea as to why the east coast beaches are warmer than the top of the south?

[Chris W]

Hmm, gone slightly NW in Kaikõura and back up to 25C from 20 earlier, but still humid. Had waited to run to let it cool a little, oh well it will be fun!

MetService going all out for severe NW and southerly gales for much of the South Island on Friday, should be another eventful day.

[Chris Raine]

30C at Thornbury today .record temp for station

[spwill]

There was a haze around Auckland today, will be smoke from across the Tasman.

No I dont reckon that would be smoke, its being pushed to the south of the SI at the moment.

It must be smoke, the haze reduced visibility quite a lot this morning.

A muggy 28C maximum here with very little breeze at my place.

[jamie]

I thought the haze around here was just the high humidity


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[tgsnoopy]

I remember when living in Auckland the cicadas would be buzzing away in the domain right through the night. It was defining and stopped you being able to sleep.

Have you been to say Darwin yet? At least our Cicada's take a pause, those ones across the ditch are relentless. However, I found them far less annoying should you be say trying to get to sleep.

[NZstorm]

I thought the haze around here was just the high humidity

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I think its most likely smoke from Australia. In Auckland some local pollution would be contributing as we had a low inversion today.

[RODALCO]

Yesterday afternoon around 14:30 hours the temperature was 32°C while driving on the North Western motorway towards Albany at an average speed of 80 km/h. It felt like driving on the Goldcoast. Today was another hot one with temperature in the shade reaching 30°C in West Harbour.

[Thunder081]

There was one year when I hated on cicadas so much that I started hearing them at night and i thought I had cicada tinnitus. Some people like them because it's the sound of NZ summer.

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

MetService going all out for severe NW and southerly gales for much of the South Island on Friday, should be another eventful day.

I'm confused?
For Timaru, Ashburton and Christchurch MS says NE before the southerly wind-change, when there is a SWW for severe possibly damaging NW winds prior to the front. If there is a NE factor prior to the southerly change, depending on conditions, would this be good for a thunderstorm?
Probably not. Just a stromg wind change followed by a couple days of clag?