May weather breaking records?

[MotherBear]

Warm, dry May heads for the record book
5:00AM Tuesday May 29, 2007
By Angela Gregory



New Zealand is heading for its warmest and driest May on record.

As of yesterday, the average temperature for May was 12.6C, almost 2C higher than the average of 10.7C, climate experts said.

Dr Jim Renwick, climate scientist at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, said it was a significant temperature increase which could turn out to be a record for May since records began being kept in the late 1800s.

Dr Renwick said the relatively mild weather had been predicted to last through to July.

Speculation that the warmer weather was related to global warming could be partially correct, in that over time warmer winters would be expected, but global warming alone could not be used to explain changes in a particular month.

More here .

[Bermy Girl]

I think the weather has gone a bit barmy all over the globe! Bermuda is having one of it's worst Springs ever...our temperature hasn't gone over 75F and it's raining and cloudy...usually we are all at the beach by now...NOT! Now, this may sound great to some of you, but normally it's much warmer by now and rain becomes more scarce as we head into June...

[nickydwuk]

Here in the UK we have had one of the wettest bank holiday weekends ever. We had almost double the average rainfall for May in just 2 days.

Nice weather for ducks

[MotherBear]

Outlook for winter - take a guess
By JOHN HENZELL - The Press | Saturday, 2 June 2007

Want proof of the South Island's bizarre weather?

The first day of winter yesterday was more than six degrees warmer in Christchurch than the first day of last summer.

On December 1 last year, the South Island's east coast was taking shelter from southerly showers, ensuring the MetService's thermometer at Christchurch Airport failed to reach 14deg and making the icebergs off the Canterbury coast seem appropriate.

Yesterday, a nor'wester prompted balmy conditions and people wandering around Cathedral Square in their shirt sleeves as the same thermometer topped out at 20.2deg.

MetService weather ambassador Bob McDavitt said Mainlanders might have to get used to topsy-turvy seasons because the aberrant currents that brought chilly water and those rogue icebergs from Antarctica to New Zealand were forecast to become more common.

"The icebergs last summer were indicative of melt water that comes up from Antarctica. It's why the sea surface temperatures were so cool last summer," he said.

"There are only two places around the planet where Antarctic melt water heads north. One is east of New Zealand, and the other is up by South Africa.

"It doesn't bother them because they're too far north."

He said research indicated a trend towards New Zealand getting more of the Antarctic melt water currents and fewer going towards South Africa.

The currents do not operate in the same way in winter because Antarctica refreezes.

However, McDavitt said the balmy temperatures had more to do with the late continuation of the high-pressure systems than on the sea temperatures.

"There were three big high-pressure systems moving across the South Island and they kept the south-westerlies away. It's a typical April weather pattern, and it's unusual for them to extend until May.

"It won't extend into June because there's a south-westerly due to arrive for Queen's Birthday weekend and you'll notice temperatures dropping quite markedly."

From here .

[MotherBear]

NZ braced for wintry blast
Updated 4:05PM Wednesday June 06, 2007


The snow could be good news for skiers. Photo / Daily Post

The whole country is set for a temperature drop as a cold snap sweeps up the country.

Forecasters say winter will fully kick in as the week continues, spelling an end to a mild autumn.

Forecaster Oliver Druce said snow would fall in many places and in Southland and Otago it could get down to sea level.

He said the North Island would not be as cold as the South Island, but a significant temperature drop would still be noticed.

MetService spokesman Bob McDavitt said the cold conditions were likely to spread north on Friday and Saturday with low-level snow affecting parts of Canterbury.

More here .

[Bermy Girl]

We're still having really strange weather here...the other night we had fog, which was so thick you couldn't see the ocean, which on an island that's only 11/2 miles wide at it's widest point, that's quite a feat! Summer still has not officially arrived here, a lot of grey rainy days, which is very unusual here, but at least the summer heat hasn't kicked in...dreading that!