A relatively dry October saw near-record high temperatures and sunshine hours for parts of Northland.
The climate summary for the month from Niwa said October saw a strengthening of El Nino, characterised by air pressures which were higher than normal over southern Australia, the Tasman Sea and New Zealand and lower than normal to the south-east of New Zealand.
This resulted in more south-westerly airflows over New Zealand than is normal for the time of year. This southwest flow anomaly was illustrated by the rainfall anomalies across the country for October, Niwa forecaster Chris Brandolino said.
Areas sheltered from the south-westerlies received below normal (50-79 per cent) or well below normal (less than 50 per cent) rainfall, and this was the case for the majority of the North Island, he said.
Kaitaia recorded 231 sunshine hours in October, the fourth highest for the month ever and 23 per cent more than average for October.
