JANUARY'S WEATHER TOPS

Murray from Paraparaumu

January’s weather in Kāpiti was warmer, sunnier and drier than average, and we began our second year free of any extreme/severe weather.

Our average daily maximum temperature of 24.2 degrees was over a degree warmer than a 13-year average, but only a couple of points higher than January 2023.

Every day exceeded 20 degrees, with 11 days over 25 degrees. The warmest was Monday 22 with 29.5 degrees in Paraparaumu. For coastal Kāpiti with its sea breezes, reaching 29 degrees is a rare event and over the last 10 years has only occurred three times. As usual, Masterton and Blenheim, at 25.7 degrees had the highest average maximums, with Kāpiti the second-highest in central New Zealand. However, our overall mean temperature of 19.8 degrees was the highest in central New Zealand reflecting our warmer nights.

Breaking the spell of recent cloudy months, January received the equivalent of 20 sunny days, nearly two more than average.

Rainfall of 52mm recorded at the airport was around 80% of average, again reflecting the low precipitation of recent months.

February is traditionally our warmest and sunniest month, but last year this occurred in January, so It will be interesting to see how this February pans out. However, as autumn approaches the days are becoming noticeably shorter.