Warm, wet, wild: 2016's extreme weather

People enjoy the hot weather at Ruakaka Beach in Northland on December 28. Photo / File

There was a record downpour in Auckland, a tornado in Taranaki and "quake lights" above Wellington. Oh, and 2016 was likely also New Zealand's hottest year on record. The National Institute of Water and Atmosphere (Niwa) shared with the Herald the extreme year of weather that was.

January

New Zealand's hottest year on record started with a subtropical low pressure system.

The rain came, campsites in Northland, Auckland and Coromandel flooded and drenched holidaymakers packed up and headed home early.

Stormy weather hits Tauranga on January 3, 2016. Photo / File

Welcome to summer.

Whitianga got a month's worth of rain in two days and by the end of January Auckland had received almost double its normal monthly total.

As a couple of ex-tropical cyclones passed through, humidity soared and for a week temperatures in Auckland hovered around 30C.

All the rain meant a welcome top-up for soil moisture levels but sunshine rates were relatively low.

Then there was the sea fog that saw planes cancelled in and out of Wellington for a day.

In conclusion, a warm and wet start to the year.

February

The records kept tumbling in February ending with it being declared the second warmest month ever.

A strong El Nino continued and increased northerly winds brought warm and humid air straight from the tropics.

All this moist tropical air meant significant rainfall all over the country with the exception of eastern parts of the country.

Flooding in Galatea, Bay of Plenty, on February 19. Photo / File

It was so wet in Auckland on February 6 the Governor-General cancelled a garden party.

Sunshine was well above normal in the South Island and lower parts of the North Island.

But it was down in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato.

Tauranga had its cloudiest February on record.

The hottest temperature was 35.5C in Clyde.

Richmond was already way ahead on the sunniest spot table and would stay that way for the rest of the year.

March

Tractors trapped in flooding near Riwaka, Nelson, on March 24, 2016, after severe weather. Photo / File

El Nino conditions prevailed in the tropical Pacific throughout March but continued to weaken.

There were more north-easterly winds than usual over New Zealand, accounting for higher temperatures overall, but the month belonged to a Tropical Cyclone called Pam.

She devastated parts of Vanuatu in the middle of the month, and then headed south causing power outages in Northland and Auckland.

Schools closed in Gisborne, flights were delayed by strong wind, and waves over 9m were recorded off the Bay of Plenty.

The highest temperature of the month was 33.1C at Hastings, Napier and Gisborne on March 8, while remarkably almost every climate station around there recorded above or well above average temperatures.

April

Kahlil Morrison, Rylon Watt and Jay Barnett juggle a football on Mission Bay beach in Auckland on April 21, 2016. Photo / File

Warm temperatures, low rainfall and lots of sunshine characterised a settled month of weather for the country.

April temperatures were well above average in every region - and particularly warm in Southland which came in at more than 2C above the April average.

This was the fourth consecutive month to have been warmer than normal, a trend that would continue all year with the exception of August.

Coromandel Peninsula took a hammering from heavy rain on April 17, which saw roads closed due to slips, campgrounds flooded and people evacuated.

The highest April temperature was 28.3C at Christchurch on April 3, but by the end of the month autumn was starting to bite with -4C recorded at Pukaki Aerodrome on April 28, making it the lowest temperature of the month.

May

A group of friends take to the ocean for an early morning swim at Mt Maunganui on May 15, 2016. Photo / File

A familiar pattern was emerging when the month was declared the warmest May on record.

North-westerly wind flows dominated and sea surface temperatures were warmer than usual.

The average monthly temperature was 12.9C - a whopping 2.1C above the 1981-2010 May average.

But it was all change in the second half of the month when a succession of low pressure systems brought storms and active weather.

There was a lot of rain in the bottom of the North Island while Palmerston North, Greymouth and Hokitika had their wettest May on record.

Snow began to fall at the ski fields from the second half of the month, and on May 16 more than 30,000 lightning strikes were recorded across the country.

Gales, fog and even a tornado added to the variety.

June

Flooding in Dressmart Mall in Onehunga on June 29 after torrential rain over Auckland. Photo / File

Climate scientists dubbed June the month of "unseasonable warmth" - no wonder when the highest temperature recorded in June was a healthy 25.1C at Napier on June 10.

Higher than normal air pressure over the east of the country combined with warmer than usual sea surface temperatures were responsible for the unusually mild temperatures - especially in the South Island.

But it was also a combination that created an environment more conducive to strong storms.

On June 29, Auckland had its wettest June hour in recorded history when 25.4mm doused the city in 60 minutes.

There was also flooding in Dunedin and Wellington in the later part of the month.

Snow also caused havoc in Central Otago on May 22 when 36 people were trapped overnight in the vehicles after setting out on back country roads.

July

A truck floats in the water on July 19 after falling from the Bluebridge Straitsman ferry in stormy seas in the Cook Strait. Photo / File

Westerly winds prevailed and July temperatures were above average for most of the country.

Even in mid-winter it was a warm 22.3C in Christchurch on July 23.

Eastern parts of both islands were particularly dry while Reefton and Westport recorded more than double their normal July rainfall.

Strong southerlies in the Cook Strait on July 18 saw a trailer unit blown off a Bluebridge ferry when it was hit by a wave.

A week later stormy seas hammered coastal parts of Porirua and the Kapiti Coast and caused considerable coastal erosion and traffic chaos.

There was widespread flight disruption around July 6 due to fog around the country; black ice caused havoc in Dunedin on July 8 while the highest wind gust for the month was 195km/h at Cape Turnagain.

August

Snow on State Highway 5 just above Te Pohue, Hawkes Bay, on August 6 2016. Photo / File

"Proper" winter descended in August with the month turning out to be the exception that proved the rule - temperatures were below average over most of the South Island, the first month of the year to record anything below average.

The nationwide average temperature was 8.3C and rainfall was below normal across the country, Napier and Oamaru excepted.

The highest temperature was 22.2C, in Christchurch on August 29, while the lowest was -14.1C at Mt Cook on August 8.

On August 8 a rugby field-sized part of the Otago Harbour froze.

The same day The Chateau at Mt Ruapheu had its coldest morning in 25 years at -9.8C.

White-out conditions closed SH1 and the Napier-Taupo Rd from August 5-8 and trucks were stranded for several days.

It took four days for things to get back to normal.

September

Stormy weather at Moa Point on Wellington south coast on September 8, 2016. Photo / File

It was back to business as usual with September temperatures above or well above average across most of New Zealand.

The succession of several low pressure systems and prevalence of winds from an easterly direction contributed to wetter than usual conditions for much of the North Island, especially in the east.

One particularly intense storm hit the Kapiti Coast, and left Paraparaumu receiving 115mm, or 134 per cent of its normal monthly rainfall, over just two days on September 16 and 17.

About 30 carloads of holidaymakers in the Coromandel spent September 25 stuck in their vehicles overnight stranded by rising floodwaters.

Wind also affected parts of the country during the month, cancelling Cook Strait ferry crossings, bringing trees down and cutting power. The highest wind gust of the month was 167km/h at Banks Peninsula on September 7.

October

Rain comes down as a stallholder puts up walls on her tent the Hawkes Bay Show in Hastings on October 20. Photo / File

Wet, wet, wet.

October rainfall was above normal for much of the southern South Island and eastern North Island but it was warm in most areas.

Several storms hit the country during the month with parts of Otago getting more than twice their normal October rainfall.

Cloudy skies bringing the rain meant lower sunshine hours than average but Christchurch still managed to clock up 27.1C on October 10.

The same temperature hit Wairoa a day later, making those spots the hottest for the month.

A small tornado hit New Plymouth on October 26 lifting roofs, ripping off garage doors and throwing a trampoline about 120m.

On the last day of the month, a thunderstorm produced hail the size of 20c coins over parts of West Auckland, completely covering the ground.

November

The storm-front hits the Kapiti Coast, south of Paekakariki, on November 16, 2016. Photo / File

Earthquake month. A series of stormy low pressure systems passed over New Zealand bringing more rain, cloudy and westerly winds than normal.

Wellington had its wettest November on record helped by heavy rain on November 15.

Upper and Lower Hutt were soaked by their normal November rainfall in 24 hours with each location getting more than 90mm of rain.

But despite the rain and cloudy skies, temperatures around the country were mostly near average or above average in Hawke's Bay, Manawatu and coastal Canterbury.

The highest temperature was 34.8C, observed at Gisborne on November 23.

This was the second warmest temperature ever recorded in New Zealand during November.

On November 14, the day the 7.8 earthquake struck, a phenomena sometimes called "earthquake lightning" was observed when coloured light flashed in the sky above Wellington.

December

People enjoy the hot weather at Ruakaka Beach in Northland on December 28. Photo / File

The last month of the year delivered some scorcher days to some spots: but overall, proved a typical start to the summer.

Across the country, temperatures were in the normal range for December, climbing to 31C in Christchurch on December 21 - the longest day of the year - and 28C in Dunedin on December 18 and 27C in Tauranga on December 28.

Over the month the average temperature for Auckland and Tauranga hovered around 18C - and 16C in Hamilton and Wellington.

But it was drier than usual for Dunedin, Auckland and Hamilton, although rainfall levels were around normal for the capital, which had received around 80mm over December.

The weather turned ugly around the middle of the month, with Wellington buffeted by storms and hard southerlys, and the South Island braced for hail and rain.

But the skies cleared when it mattered most: Christmas Day brought cool, sunny weather, followed by hotter temperatures for Boxing Day.

The warmth of December also kept 2016 on track for being the hottest year on the books: a record set to soon be confirmed by Niwa.