MetService has confirmed Thursday is officially Auckland’s hottest November day since records began.
MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said, for the first time in the month of November in Auckland, temperatures had surpassed 26C at its recording station.
“Auckland Airport reached 26.2 degrees this afternoon, which has broken its November maximum record temperature, sitting at 25.9 degrees.”
Ferris said MetService’s temperature records for the Auckland region began on December 31, 1965.
He said many parts of the country had experienced warm weather on Thursday, some exceeding 30C.
“With record or near-record temperatures turning up in parts of the country, it’s not too surprising to see Auckland actually get up there as well, because a lot of these temperatures are being driven by very warm, humid air being dragged down from the north,” Ferris said.
“Auckland being closer to there, they are going to be feeling those effects and people have probably been wondering why it felt so swampy, so humid the last couple of days.
“It is that warm, humid air being dragged down, and it does look to hang around, as we make our way through the rest of this week and into next week.
“There will be some intermittent rain as well, so it is just going to make it feel a little bit more humid.”
Ferris said sea-surface temperatures to the northwest were already above average and similar wind flows would likely make their way to New Zealand in the coming weeks.
“These warm, humid days could be something we see a little bit more of, as we head through December.
“Won’t be warm every day, though. You know, December is a little bit of a copout, when it comes to summer.
“There probably will be some cooler southerly air, but I think holding onto these days and thinking that they will be more of them as we make our way through December is probably not a bad idea.”
Ferris said warm, humid air provided a good amount of low-level moisture, which could turn into afternoon showers and potentially thunderstorms.
“Conditions in the upper atmosphere aren’t always ripe for that kind of stuff, so people will need to be keeping up with the forecast to see if those showers are going to be turning up in the afternoon.
“You might think it’s a lovely day, it’s warm, let’s get out the barbecue for the evening and that could just be when some of those showers turn up.”
rnz.co.nz
