Taupō weather: Winter starts dry and mild

A winter's sunset over Lake Taupō. The start to winter has been warmer and drier than expected. Photo / Merv Richdale

The first 10 days of the Taupō winter and the first 10 days of June weather have proven slightly milder than expected and with very little rain.

The maximum daytime temperatures averaged more than half a degree above normal, at 13.3C, and the night-time air minimum temperatures were similarly above the normal, averaging 4.4C.

There were just two very light frosts recorded on Sunday, June 4 and Saturday, June 10, although a third frost for the month was recorded on the morning of this weekly report.

June is normally the second wettest month of the year after July, but the first 10 days have produced only 4.5mm in total.

With reasonably stable barometric pressures over the first 10 days, the weather for the first part of the winter has been sunny and quite pleasant by day, although the lazy south-easterly winds have tended to tone down the daytime temperatures.

An area of high-pressure covered much of the South Island during the 10 days and with a stationary low-pressure system just off the north-eastern part of the North Island, this allowed the south-easterly winds to dominate here in Taupō.