September blows hot . . . and cold
District avoids heavy rain seen elsewhere
September’s weather in Kāpiti was a month of two halves, local weather commentator Murray Eggers said. “The first two weeks were sunny with above-average temperatures, and the second two cooler, cloudy and very windy.
“But overall, the statistics were fairly average.
“Spring, always evident in August in Kā piti, usually gets a bit of a setback during late September and October when the unsettled, ‘equinoxial’ weather arrives.
“It generally continues through to early summer in November, when it’s not a time to holiday.”
The average daily maximum temperature was 16.2C, 1.3C above average and similar to last year.
“This was a fairly spectacular 3C rise above an unusually cool August,” Eggers said.
“Levin and some eastern areas had slightly higher maximums than Kāpiti, but Kāpiti’s overall mean temperature of 9.4C was the highest in central New Zealand.
“Kā piti’s 60mm of rain was average for the month, with most falling in the last week, it being relatively dry over the preceding five weeks.
“Kāpiti continues to avoid the extreme rainfall still being seen in some areas, particularly the north and east of the North Island.
“The equivalent of 15 sunny days was also around average, but mostly restricted to the first two weeks of the month.
“Winds typical of the time of year made their appearance mid-month, with a couple of particularly scary storms from both the north and south.
“Unsettled weather is likely to continue through October, usually our last spring month, with a 1C rise in the average temperature expected.”