Dude, where’s my summer?

Those of us in the Nelson Tasman region are used to boasting about our high sunshine hours, but this summer has not offered much cause for smugness.

MetService meteorologist Alec Holden says that we can expect more of the same for the next couple of weeks, with the region sitting a little below its January average of 23°C. The month will be slightly wetter than normal, although only by one extra bout of rain. He reckons our underwhelming summer is due to the position of high pressure systems.

“Typically during summer, we get large ‘blocking highs’ that form over the country, and keep areas of low pressure and their associated rainfall away. Winds also tend to be light under a high, which prevents southerlies and cooler temperatures from affecting us/Nelson. However, the highs have been weaker and not as slow-moving this summer, so rain and cooler temperatures have been able to sneak in.”

He says that because Nelson is reasonably sheltered, the region is not getting as bad a time of it as other more exposed locations, “but it’s still not very ‘summery’.”

The forecast offers some good news, however. Alec says that New Zealand’s early autumns tend to be better than expected, because our seasons lag slightly behind the calendar.

“We’re surrounded by ocean, which takes a while to heat up in the summer, so our Decembers tend to be cooler and our Marches warmer. So although we’re technically just under halfway through summer, there’s still time for good weather ahead.”