Half of 2024 is over and done with. We’ve passed the shortest day, we’re in July, the days are starting to get longer again (I mean, sure, it’s measured in seconds at this early stage but still, glass half full etcetera). As many of you tell me, as the days get longer, the cold gets stronger, or as the days lengthen the cold strengthens.
So with that – welcome to true winter! The next two months are traditionally the time of the year we’re most likely to be hit by the coldest air and some of the bigger winter storms.
But as I’ve often written about, New Zealand’s location on Earth (halfway between the equator and Antarctica) means one week we can have mild sub-tropical winds, the next week it’s Antarctic air. In fact, sometimes we can have very frosty weather in May, only to find it got milder in some places the month or two after.
The placement of air pressure zones is the main deciding factor on whether or not we’re experiencing warmer, colder or normal temperatures for this time of year. When Antarctica broke heat records a couple years ago it was due to a northerly wind off Australia’s interior. When NZ has reached our highest temperatures it was also courtesy of airflows out of Australia’s hot interior.
All this messy variety is what makes our weather – so I’m never truly surprised when winter weather arrives early in autumn, or spring-like weather pitches up in the depths of winter.
NZ’s weather patterns are full of chaos and right now everything is looking bigger. We have big highs in the forecast – but between them there are big lows.
The “crazy”, turbulent, often confusing weather pattern is now entering peak madness. The storm in the eastern North Island for the last week of June, the storms bringing days of snow to the Australian Alps, the big highs coming in with frosts and temperatures well below zero in Queensland, the pockets of dry still stuck over some regions of NZ … there is HUGE variety in weather conditions across Australia and NZ right now.
Forgive me for using Australia as an example of NZ’s weather, but parts of Tasmania have maximum temperatures in the single digits on July 1 – while parts of the Northern Territory have highs in the mid 30s!
In NZ, northerners have had slightly milder than usual days and nights lately, whereas the lower and eastern South Island has recently had a run of single-digit maximums with a lot of cloud and fog and gloom.
It looks as though July offers some big weather variety thanks to big highs and big lows. The method to this madness is that more regions are getting the wet weather they need – and hopefully for drenched regions some dry and sunshine in the mix this July too.
Upcoming Highlights
• Low pressure with a cold change kicks off July
• Powerful high pressure moves in around the weekend
