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If you thought last year was wet, you weren’t wrong.
According to the rainfall figures kept by Whitaker Road resident Chris Stephen, who has been checking his rain gauge daily for nearly 40 years, a total of 2482mm fell last year. The only year to come even close to this was 1985 when the region received 2038mm.
According to Stephen’s figures, the wettest day last year was January 27, when 143.7mm filled the gauge. There were a total of 193 days when rain was recorded and the wettest month was January (599.4mm, compared to the average of 105.7mm) followed by February (378mm, compared to the average of 101.8mm).
Rainfall enthusiast in the Dome Valley Stephen Beckett says his total rainfall for the year of 3004.5mm compares to the average for the previous five years of 2054mm.
“Last January’s weather was excessive at 685.5mm, as was February’s at 347mm, and while May and
September both had totals only slightly more than previous years, the remaining months had less than previous monthly maximums,” Beckett says. “However the perception is that it hasn’t stopped raining.”
Beckett says that interestingly, the temperatures last year have been slightly different to previous years.
“The maximum daily temperatures have generally been between two and four degrees Celsius less than previous years on my record and the minimums have been slightly higher than normal.
“We have had cooler days and warmer nights. This means the temperature difference between daily maximums and minimums has been less than normal, and can be accounted for by the excessive cloud cover we have had.”
Mahurangi Matters thanks all our volunteer rainfall collectors for their diligence and enthusiasm. If anyone from Puhoi would like to join this exclusive club, please contact Jannette at editor@localmatters.co.nz
