Mercury falling
Pasture stops growing. Keas mate. In Central Otago there can be hoar frost. In the past old biddies judged pies. In the 1960s Tokelauans were welcomed to Te Puke.
Winter induces some strange behaviours – budgie smugglers and 9 degrees Celsius are a bad mix. Pagans celebrate the solstice at the Wairarapa Stonehenge. I hunker down near the woodburner waiting for the weekend when football is cancelled and the All Blacks win (well maybe not this year).
The shortest day has passed, so days are lengthening – not that you’d notice. Whether you’re in Leigh or Lauder you won’t get sunburnt. For Māori the arrival of Matariki in the morning sky marks a new year.
If you think it’s all going to get better from here, it’s not quite that simple. The coldest weather occurs after the shortest day. July (average monthly air temperature 7.3°C) is colder than June (average monthly air temperature 7.9°C). In the North Island August is about as cold as June, September about the same as May. In the South Island August is milder compared with June and September milder than May. Throughout New Zealand October is cooler than April and November cooler than March.
There is a lag in the atmosphere before longer days (more solar radiation) translate into warmer temperatures – the months before the longest day aren’t as warm as we think they should be. Some years winter just doesn’t seem to quit (I remember snow flurries around Boxing Day in the Mackenzie Country a few years ago). But it also cuts the other way – in autumn it takes awhile for shorter days to steal summer’s warmth.
So beware longer days, as they can be false prophets – in terms of temperature that is. But lightening morns and eves quickly lift spirits, if not the mercury.
Posted 
Posted 
Posted 
Posted 


Posted 
