Unusually balmy sea conditions predicted to delay our winter by a month follow one of the wider New Zealand region's warmest seasons on record, a climate scientist says. Niwa is forecasting another winter of unusually warm temperatures – they're predicted to be above average in the north and either near or above average in most of the south – as a lingering La Niña climate system continues to influence our weather. As well, coastal waters were running abnormally hot – sea temperatures ranged as high as 2.7C above average over April – which in turn were driving up the mercury on land. It remained to be seen whether New Zealand would eventually chalk up its third-consecutive record-hot winter. The lower North Island, as well as the east and north of the South Island, have a 35 percent chance of below-average rainfall.

Source: Otago Daily Times May 05, 2022 06:42 UTC