By Philip English
Mother Nature made last year a momentous one for New Zealand weather.
It was the warmest and driest year on record but in some places it was the wettest ever.
Northern New Zealand had only one week of normal winter temperatures, with July exhibiting September conditions.
Severe droughts hit eastern areas from Gisborne to North Canterbury while there were 12 big floods, the worst being hitting the Waikato in July.
The northern slopes of Mt Taranaki turned out to be the wettest area in the country, experiencing nearly 11m of rainfall and displacing Milford Sound - traditionally the wettest populated location - which had 7.8m.
Dr Jim Salinger, senior climate scientist with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, said the weather was a confusing mix of heat and rain and 1998 was one of the most dramatic years in New Zealand climate history.
In contrast to 1997, when temperatures were cooler than usual, the national average temperature for 1998 was 13.4 deg C, 0.8 deg C above the long-term average set between 1961 and 1990.
Previous highs were in 1971, 1989 and 1990.
Record high temperatures were recorded at Whangarei, Auckland, Paeroa, Waihi, Tauranga, Hamilton, Gisborne and in Wellington.
It was the driest year in more than 80 years of record-keeping for parts of Gisborne, Hawkes Bay and Canterbury.
Wellington was the wettest of the main centres, with 1363mm of rain. Auckland had 1259mm; Dunedin, 652mm; and Christchurch, 476mm.
Nelson was the sunniest centre, with 2541 hours, followed by Blenheim, with 2446. Of the main cities, Christchurch was the sunniest, with 2171 hours; Wellington had 2075; Auckland, 1895; and Dunedin, 1486.
A big influence on the year's climate was the strong El Nino pattern, which persisted until autumn, causing the dry conditions in the east.
But the warm weather of February to July was not typical of El Nino and was probably caused by record high ocean surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean.
The La Nina pattern that is now bringing milder conditions strengthened in late winter and probably accounted for the continued warmth.
Dr Salinger said New Zealand was following the global warming trend and it was likely to be hotter next century.
The implications for the country, from pasture changes to greater risks from insect pests and plant diseases, were the subject of research which would not be completed for three to four years.
But this information would be vital to indicate "where to put dairy farms and where to plant vineyards."
Looking into his crystal ball, Dr Salinger said February, March and April might be influenced by the Indian Ocean cooling off and the Tasman Sea not being as warm as it was last year.
Confused weather pattern for 1998
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