Taupō January weather summary

Taupō had a largely dry January, save for one very rainy day. Photo / Dan Hutchinson

Taupō’s weather for the first month of 2024 was overall very dry and produced temperatures slightly below the January average.

While January 2024 was not the driest January month on record, it nonetheless ranked up there among the driest, and had it not been for a 24-hour fall of 37.5mm on January 28, a new record could well have been set.

There have been plenty of other, drier Januarys.

The total rainfall in 2022 was a record-low 9.5mm, with other notable months that include January 2020 with 24.5mm, January 2014 with 21mm, and January 2013 when 18.5mm fell.

It is therefore not at all unusual for January to have low rainfall. However, by way of contrast, January 2023 produced 242.5mm of rain.

The temperatures for January 2024 were slightly below the general average. The daytime maximum over the month registered a pleasant 25.2C (1.3 degrees below average), the night-time minimum was 12.8C (only 0.1 degrees below average) and the daily temperature last month averaged an acceptable 19C (0.7 degrees below average).

Winds during the month were seldom of any consequence. Peak wind gusts exceeding 40km/h occurred twice, a westerly of only 43km/h on New Year’s Day and a southeasterly peaked at 44km/h on January 30, and persisted in the days that followed.

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