January in Kāpiti: Warmest place in Central NZ

Murray from Paraparaumu

Kāpiti-Horowhenua was the warmest place in central New Zealand, and was very dry and sunny, although a little cooler than normal as was most of the country.

Our daily average maximum temperature was 22.2C, one degree cooler than the longtime average and two degrees cooler than January 2024. Most unusually, temperatures in eastern regions such as Wairarapa, Marlborough and Nelson were lower than ours. It was as if east and west had been reversed. Persistent southerlies were likely responsible and affected these regions to a greater extent than in Kāpiti, but did cause our chilly mornings and resulted in five days that did not reach 20C. The highest temperatures of just under 29C were experienced over the last weekend.

Most of the month experienced drought conditions with virtually no rain. Only in the first and last weeks was there some rain with most of the around 55mm falling on the last few days. The historic average is 45mm.

Sunshine amounting to the equivalent of 20.5 sunny days was two above average and the same as January 2024, offering some compensation for December’s lowest in a decade.

February’s weather is usually very similar to January’s, but with signs of autumn becoming evident as the sun lowers in the sky.