KEY POINTS:
Well Spring is definitely here after a relatively sunny and warm weekend right across New Zealand.
The chorus of lawnmowers echoed across my suburb and as I went for a weekend walk I saw people gardening, washing cars, playing outside, wearing shorts and singlets and just looking thankful that the wet winter months now seem to be behind us. Even a few little showers in Auckland didn't stop people getting out.
With all this good weather I thought it was about time I washed my car and after reversing out of my garage I realised my warrant was due - so rushed to get it done. I honestly have to say getting a warrant for your car is a horrible experience - as an adult it brings back fears of sitting exams at school.
My car is a late 90s model - it's not a flash car but it's not an old dunger either - but still, waiting in that WOF lane at the testing station, along with many others sitting in their cars under that clear blue sky reading their newspapers, I was nervous. There were 5 inspectors working on this particular morning and as luck would have it I got Mr Surly who failed me on a blown headlight.
Ahhh I remember back to the good old days when you failed a warrant for having the entire back half of your car falling apart from rust - these days a scratch is almost enough to fail you and sure enough cost you hundreds of dollars to fix.
In between my trip to the mechanic to get a new bulb - and hearing my mechanic say "Well, I haven't seen this before" (which I also heard from my plumber who fixed my shower last month) - forking out more than I wanted and then driving back for a re-test, I have to say the WOF stress just eased away as I saw soaked up the true Spring weather.
Many gardens are now blooming with bright flowers and lawns are quickly growing - in a few more weeks it'll be warm enough to start planting those Summer vegetable gardens, but don't be too eager - late frosts, cold snaps and wet weather can kill many seedlings. Many gardeners say Labour Weekend is when to plant, perhaps a couple of weeks earlier for Auckland northwards.
We are definitely seeing the Spring weather kick in now - you may have noticed that we've broken our seven day cycle of wet weather - in fact, systems are now starting to scoot by quite quickly.
A very large low in the Southern Ocean is certainly going to affect the South Island over the next few days - it did on Sunday with regions from Dunedin to Alexandra jumping to a balmy 23 degrees with that warm northerly.
The Southern Ocean looks like something from the "Perfect Storm" with a gigantic area of low pressure. In fact some of the storms down there are truly frightening looking and for any fishing trawlers or ships heading south of New Zealand the seas will be huge and the winds wild. But this is normal for September.
In September these huge lows in the Southern Ocean usually start the big nor'westers over the South Island while the North Island stays relatively calm under a lot of high pressure. I don't have any facts or figures but after living in the northern part of New Zealand all my life I've found September to be a lovely month, full of blue skies, light winds and higher temperatures - while October sees a change to big spring storms as that battle between the cold winter air and beginning of the warm summer air begins right over us.
So get used to seeing temperatures swinging from the lower 20s to the upper single digits in the south as northerlies switch to southerlies then back to northerlies again. The North Island can probably enjoy a couple more relatively settled weeks with plenty of high pressure about - but showers in western areas. But don't be fooled - this isn't Summer and Spring the truly settled weather is most likely at least another 3 months away.
Enjoy your week!
Philip Duncan
Pictured above: A week-old lamb shelters from the wind in roots of a pine tree on a farm at Oratia, Waitakere City. Photo / P. Stowers
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