Southerly change sets in after warm May weather

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Warm for this time of year? You betcha! And by an average of more than five degrees so far this month.

Normally people are throwing something extra on the bed as May nights cool down, but for the first nine nights of this month, night-time temperatures have stayed warm.

Even with one early morning dipping to 8.8 degrees, the overnight lows so far this month have averaged over 14 degrees.

That is over six degrees warmer than the 30-year average (1991-2020) for May in Gisborne.

Daytime temperatures have been warm too, with an average so far of 21.8 degrees — 4.1 degrees above the 30-year average.

Overall, the mean daily temperature has been around 18 degrees, which is 5.2 degrees above the 1991-2020 average.

Much of the weather can be put down to repeat intrusions of warm, moisture-laden air from the sub-tropics, the remnants of the previous three years’ La Niña weather system, and warm waters off much of New Zealand’s coast. Unfortunately the outlook is for something typically cooler.

MetService said a southerly change would set in today, with temperatures falling by around five or six degrees.

The temperature today is expected to reach a high of 14 degrees, with tomorrow morning cooling down to five degrees.