Warm and wet for many regions.

Warm & wet South Island, sunny North Island.

Autumn 2009: Cold and sunny for most places; dry in the north and wet in the south.

Rainfall: Above normal in Canterbury and Otago, the lower North Island, and western Northland; below normal in central and eastern North Island and northern South Island.
Temperature: Below average for most of the country, except for Southland and Fiordland where autumn temperatures were near average.
Sunshine: Above normal for most of New Zealand; below normal in parts of Otago.

Autumn overall was colder than average (by between 0.5 and 1.5°C) for most of the country with the exception of Southland and

Dry in the north and east, mild and sunny for much of the country.

Autumn 2008: a season of extremes – heatwaves, drought, floods and frost

Rainfall: Well below normal in alpine areas and the west and south of the South Island
Soil moisture: Significant deficits in western areas of the North Island
Temperature: Above average in the north and west, below average in Otago
Sunshine: Well above normal in west and south of the South Island

Low rainfall occurred in the alpine areas and west of the South Island, with one of the driest autumn’s on record. It was very dry and sunny in the west and south of the South Island and Manawatu.

Very windy mid spring, dry with significant soil moisture deficits at the end of the season

Sunshine: One of the sunniest springs on record in Horowhenua, Wellington, Marlborough, and Nelson
Rainfall: Below or near normal throughout New Zealand
Soil moisture: Significant deficits in many regions at the end of the season
Temperature: Near average everywhere

Spring 2007 was a mixed bag!

Autumn 2007: Warm; record dry in east of the North Island

Rainfall: Well below normal in the east, and Manawatu and Wellington
Soil moisture: Significant deficits in several eastern regions
Temperature: Above average, especially in the east and inland areas of the South Island
Sunshine: Well above normal in Gisborne, Marlborough and parts of Canterbury

Low rainfall records tumbled in the east of the North Island, with the driest autumn on record. It was very dry and sunny in the east, from Gisborne to Otago, and Manawatu and Wellington.

Spring 2006: Distinctive El Niño spring with blustery westerlies and south westerlies; very windy at times with stronger than usual east/west contrasts in climate.

Rainfall: Dry in Northland, coastal Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, and eastern Otago; wet in the southwest of the North Island, and the west and far south of the South Island
Temperature: Warm in the east of the North Island and Marlborough; temperatures near normal elsewhere
Sunshine: Sunny in the northeast of the North Island and southeast of the South Island, rather cloudy in the west of the North Island

Clas

Rainfall: Extremely high in Northland, Auckland, and Bay of Plenty; extremely low in Central Otago
Temperature: Near average throughout much of New Zealand
Sunshine: Sunny in Southland

Autumn rainfall was extremely high in Northland, Auckland, and Waikato, and parts of Bay of Plenty, and extremely low in parts of Central Otago. Seasonal mean temperatures were above average in Auckland, Coromandel, western Bay of Plenty, Nelson, Golden Bay, and parts of Waikato, and below average in parts of South Canterbury, and North Otago.

Rainfall: Extremely low in Kapiti, Wellington, Nelson, and Otago; rather wet in Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay
Soil moisture: Significant deficits in the east from southern Wairarapa to Otago, as well as Kapiti, Wellington, and Nelson
Sunshine: Extremely sunny in the west from Taranaki to Westland, as well as Wellington, Nelson and Southland
Temperature: Above average in many western regions

Spring was extremely sunny in the west, with contrasting rainfall patterns across New Zealand.

Wednesday, 8 June 2005
A season of regional contrasts
Sunshine: Record high sunshine in the north of the North Island, above average over much of the South Island
Rainfall: Record rainfall in parts of the Bay of Plenty, above average in Hawke’s Bay and Wairarapa; well below average in Northland
Soil moisture: Severe deficits throughout Northland during early and mid autumn
Temperature: Above average in the north of the North Island, below average in south Canterbury and north Otago
Autumn was a season of regional contrasts.

Monday, 6 December 2004
Rainfall: Below average in Northland, and from Kaikoura to north Canterbury, but wet in parts of Otago
Soil Moisture: Significant deficits persisted in coastal Marlborough, and are showing up in Hawke’s Bay, Canterbury and areas of North and Central Otago
Temperature: Close to average overall, a cool start followed by a mild end
Sunshine: Above average in most eastern regions; but a lack of sunshine in the west
For many, spring began with cold southwesterlies, was followed by average temperatures in October and concluded with a mild, although windy November.

Wednesday, 9 June 2004
Temperatures: Below average in many regions
Rainfall: Below average in the far north, the south and west of the North Island, Marlborough, and Fiordland; above average in coastal Southland
Sunshine: Sunny in the North Island and the east of the South Island
Autumn’s climate was cooler than usual, especially in the west of the North Island from Northland to King Country, with average or below average rainfall over much of the country. However, rainfall was above average along the Southland coast. Soil moisture levels were lower than normal in Central Otago.

Saturday, 6 December 2003
Rainfall: Above normal rainfall over much of the North Island and in coastal Marlborough and Canterbury
Temperatures: Below average in the southern half of the South Island, near average elsewhere
Sunshine: Above average in King Country and Canterbury
The spring of 2003 was wetter than usual over much of the North Island and the east of the South Island. Temperatures were near normal in the North Island and northern half of the South Island, but colder than normal in the southern half of the South Island. It was sunnier than average in King Country and Canterbury.

Wednesday, 18 June 2003
Rainfall: well below average in Horowhenua, Kapiti, Wellington, central Marlborough and Otago; above average in Northland
Soil moisture: significant deficits for much of the autumn in the southwest of the North Island and the north and east of the South Island
Sunshine: extremely sunny in Kapiti, Wellington, Westland, and coastal Otago
Temperatures: above average in the North Island, and the north and west of the South Island
Below average rainfall was a major feature of the autumn for many regions, especially Horowhenua, Kapiti, Wellington, central Marlborough and O

Friday, 6 December 2002
Windy: warmer at first, then very cold
Significant soil moisture deficits in parts of New Zealand by the end of November
Sunny in many northern and eastern regions
Rainfall well below average in Bay of Plenty
Wet and unsettled in the southwest of the South Island
Many extreme events
Spring commenced with a windier and warmer than normal September. However, along with the wind, very cold conditions for the time of year predominated for the rest of the season.

Wednesday 5 June 2002
Sunny with below average rainfall in many areas, especially in the east
Above average rainfall in parts of Buller and Southland
Warm in Auckland, Waikato, Buller, Nelson and Central Otago
Autumn was sunny with below average rainfall in many regions. It was very dry, with less than 50 percent (half) of normal autumn rainfall in Gisborne, central Hawke’s Bay, central Marlborough, the Kaikoura coast and parts of Central Otago. Many areas in these eastern regions experienced one of their driest autumns on record.

Sunday 16 December 2001
A spring of extremes
5th warmest spring overall
Extremely wet in eastern Bay Of Plenty, Marlborough and Nelson
The spring of 2001 was one of the warmest on record, being the fifth warmest since reliable measurements began in the 1850s. It was a season of extremes, beginning with rather settled weather in September.

Wednesday 13 June 2000
An autumn of extremes
Record low rainfall in Wellington and the east of the South Island
Very wet in Northland, Coromandel and Bay Of Plenty
Extremely sunny in central New Zealand
Warm in many areas
A fresh New Zealand record low 3–month rainfall total at Cape Campbell, coastal Marlborough, and an all time high rainfall for a non-alpine area, Leigh, in Northland, highlighted an autumn of climate extremes.