Warm, dry summer on the way

It will be warm and relatively dry in the Western Bay this summer.
Forecasters are predicting average summer temperatures and average or slightly below average rainfall.
Climatologist Stuart Burgess of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research said the summer seasonal forecast for the region was looking good for barbecues and days at the beach.
"Of course, there are still plenty of variables but it looks good overall."
Western Bay temperatures were slightly warmer than average last month, with the mercury hitting 20C several times.
The highest was 23C with overnight temperatures half a degree warmer than normal for the month.
The coldest temperature was recorded on November 27 _ a chilly 4C.
This compares with the national average air temperature of 14.3C, or 0.6C above average, last month.
Most of the above-average temperatures were in the southern North Island and South Island.
Auckland Airport recorded the highest November sunshine hours since records started there in 1963 but with temperatures slightly below average and only half the usual rainfall.
Average temperatures for Tauranga during the months from December to February tend to hover between 22C and 24C.
The latest national outlook from Niwa predicts average temperatures for most of the country, with normal or below normal rainfall in most areas except for the west and south of the South Island, which could be in for an extra-wet summer.
Over summer, Niwa predicts Northland, Auckland and Waikato will get average temperatures with normal or below normal rainfall, soil moisture and stream flows.
The central North Island, Taranaki, Wanganui, Manawatu and Wellington, will have average temperatures with normal rainfall, soil moisture and stream flows.
Gisborne, Hawke's Bay and Wairarapa can expect average temperatures with normal or below normal rainfall, soil moisture and stream flows.
Nelson, Marlborough and Buller will get average or cool temperatures, with normal rain, soil moisture and stream flows.
West Coast, Alps and foothills, inland Otago and Southland can expect cooler than normal temperatures with more rain, soil moisture and stream flows.
Coastal Canterbury and east Otago will be pretty normal. As a small country in the middle of the ocean, New Zealand's climate is dominated by what happens at sea.
Niwa's sea surface temperature measurements, taken from satellites, showed colder than usual seas around most of the country in October, and its official outlook predicted that the sea would stay about 0.5C colder than usual from November to January.
But in November, the colder-than-average area shrank to a small patch off Northland's east coast and a larger area around the southern South Island.
The experts agree that the weather is displaying "mild El Nino" conditions, when the westerly trade winds across the Pacific weaken, bringing less warm surface water to the seas around New Zealand and Australia and more relatively cold, dry weather.