For the third month on end, temperatures below average have been posted across most of the country, with North Otago leading the way.
The national average temperature of 7.3degC was 0.4degC below the long-term average for July, according to Niwa statistics released today.
North Otago, alpine areas of Canterbury and Westland, and Waiouru all recorded average temperatures between 1.2 and 2.0degC below normal for July, while most other regions experienced temperatures between 0.5 and 1.0degC lower than average.
Canterbury squeezed out the highest temperature, recording 20.8degC on the last day of the month.
The lowest temperature was -11.7degC, recorded in Middlemarch in Central Otago on the 19th.
Despite cold temperatures, most of the South Island had plenty of sun, with sunshine totals well above average in Nelson, Marlborough, Buller, and parts of Canterbury and Otago.
In contrast, Wellington, the Kapiti Coast and southern Wairarapa all recorded sunshine totals well below average.
Two tornadoes, one in the Far North at Kaitaia on July 4 and the other just north of Cromwell, in Central Otago, on the 21st, were among the extreme weather events.
Fog brought Christchurch Airport to a standstill on the 18th, while heavy rain in the lower North Island caused road and rail closures, slips and flooding on the 23rd and 24th.
The highest one-day rainfall was 125mm, recorded at Milford Sound on the 30th, and the highest wind gust 182kmh, recorded on the 19th at southern Hawke's Bay's Cape Turnagain.
Of the six main centres, Auckland was the warmest and sunniest, Tauranga the wettest, and Christchurch the coldest and driest.
