It’s shaping up to be a hot and wet summer with this year’s El Nino bringing humidity and heat in equal measure.
The latest Niwa Weather outlook said there is a 100 per cent chance El Nino will carry on through to March - and there’s a higher chance of heavy rain as summer draws on because of it.
This year El Nino has brought what feels like a late start to summer for much of the country, but Niwa says January through into March will see higher temperatures than usual, a more variable rainfall pattern across the country, and localised marine heatwaves in part of the south and north islands.
As of early January, localised heatwaves were already being recorded in coastal Canterbury, Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne, Bay of Plenty, and Auckland.