KEY POINTS:
This really was the winter of discontent, according to figures released today.
Flooding, freezing temperatures, house-shattering tornadoes and massive gales were among just some of the weather woes to hit.
The coldest day during the icy season was -15.4C recorded at Lauder in Central Otago on July 18, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research said.
It was the coldest temperature the region had seen for 12 years.
Many other South Island locations recorded minimum air temperatures below - 10degC during July, often accompanied by freezing fog and treacherous ice.
The highest temperature - a balmy 22.4C - was felt in Rangiora on June 1.
Heavy rainfall caused severe flooding and landslips throughout much of Northland on July 10, with the town of Kaeo bearing the brunt of the downpour.
Whangarei was completely blocked off by floods and slips.
At the same time as the rain, strong gales buffeted Northland, Auckland and the Coromandel, felling trees and breaking powerlines, leaving 140,000 people without electricity.
An unprecedented number of tornadoes tore through the north and west of the North Island over July 4 and 5, with damage being particularly felt in Taranaki.
Oakura was severely affected with a substantial number of houses damaged.
Another small tornado hit New Plymouth that tipped over a truck and trailer unit on July 31.
Of the main centres, Auckland was the warmest and wettest, and Christchurch the driest, sunniest and coldest.
The national average temperature was exactly normal at 8.5C, thanks to higher than normal temperatures in the northern half of the North Island, but below average in inland areas of South Canterbury and Southland.
Seasonal rainfall was one-and-a-half times more than normal in eastern areas of Northland, central Hawke's Bay and North Otago.
In contrast, rainfall was less than half of normal in inland areas of Marlborough and parts of Banks Peninsula.
Sunshine was also unequal in quantity with above normal levels in Otago and inland South Canterbury, but below normal in the Wairarapa.
- NZPA
