December Summary
Near average temperature, above average wind run and below average rainfall.
(December compared to my records from the past 10 years.)
- This December is near my average temperature of 16.3C with 16.5C. My December record is 18.3C in 2017.
- The warmest temperature was 28.2C, my December record 35.6C in 2017.
- The coldest temperature was 5.1C, the lowest December temperature I've recorded in the past 10 years is 3.5C in 2012.
- Twenty six days reached or exceeded 20C, my average is 20 days.
- Twelve days reached or exceeded 25C, my average is 9 days.
- No days reached or exceeded 30C, my average is 3 days.
- Wind run was 110% of my average of 5334km with 5920km. This total makes it the windiest December in the past 10 years.
- The barometer recorded below average pressure for the month with 1005.6hPa. My average is 1011.5hPa.
- Rainfall was 67% of the average expected total of 49.8mm with 33.6mm on just 4 days with 19.8mm recorded on the 18th.
- The wettest December in the past 10 years is 2013 with 70.5mm.
- The driest December in the past 10 years is 2017 with 28.5mm
| December 2019 Summary Temperature | |
|---|---|
| Mean | 16.5 C |
| Mean Maximum | 23.0 C |
| Mean Minimum | 10.7 C |
| Maximum High | 28.2 C (7th) |
| Maximum Low | 15.4 C (3rd) |
| Minimum High | 15.3 C (17th) |
| Minimum Low | 5.1 C (9th) |
| Wind Speed and Direction | |
| Maximum Gust | 52 km/h (20th) |
| Mean | 8.4 km/h |
| Wind Run | 5920 km |
| Max Daily Windrun | 313 km (18th) |
| Prevailing Direction | East North East |
| Barometer | |
| Maximum | 1020.5 hPa (25th and 26th) |
| Minimum | 980.3 hPa (3rd) |
| Mean | 1005.6 hPa |
| Max Daily Change | `+23.8 hPa (20th) |
| Rainfall | |
| Days with Measured Rainfall (0.2mm or more) |
4 |
| Max Daily Rainfall | 19.4 mm (18th) |
| Monthly Rainfall | 33.6 mm |
| Humidity | |
| Maximum | 95 % (17th) |
| Minimum | 26 % (7th) |
| December Daily Observations | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temperature | Wind | Rainfall | Barometer | |||||||||
| Date | Min | Max | Mean | Mean (Km/h) | Gust (Km/h) | Run (km) | Prevailing Dir | 10 Minute Max (mm) | Total (mm) | Min (hPa) | Max (hPa) | Change (hPa) |
| 1 | 11.4 | 27.5 | 19.1 | 6.9 | 36 | 158 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 993.3 | 1006.8 | -13.5 |
| Mostly cloudy with some sunny intervals in the afternoon. NE winds turning northerly in the afternoon and dying away in the evening. More heatwaves on the way for summer - Niwa |
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| 2 | 11.8 | 26.1 | 19.2 | 4.9 | 29 | 111 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 991.5 | 1002.1 | -10.6 |
| Overcast with NE winds, a few spots of rain in the afternoon. | ||||||||||||
| 3 | 15.4 | 26.1 | 21.0 | 12.8 | 48 | 292 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 980.3 | 993.2 | +12.9 |
| Variable cloud, NE winds turning gusty NW from mid afternoon. | ||||||||||||
| 4 | 11.1 | 27.2 | 19.1 | 8.9 | 44 | 204 | North Nth East | 0 | 0 | 989.4 | 997.4 | +8.0 |
| Some high cloud but mostly sunny with fresh northerly winds. Rangitata River on watch after heavy rainfall November's 'unsettled' weather brought record-breaking heat |
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| 5 | 9.9 | 26.1 | 18.3 | 8.0 | 43 | 183 | North Nth East | 0 | 0 | 995.7 | 1000.7 | +5.0 |
| Some high cloud, sunny with warm northerly winds. Central Otago and West Coast on flood watch as rain keeps coming Smoke and dust from Australia's bushfires turns New Zealand's glaciers pink |
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| 6 | 12.4 | 27.2 | 20.2 | 7.6 | 44 | 174 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 998.5 | 1002.2 | +3.7 |
| Mostly sunny with variable cloud with north to NE winds. Rivers dry out as temperatures soar towards 30C in Hawke's Bay Australian bush fires: More haze for New Zealand this weekend |
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| 7 | 14.4 | 28.2 | 20.9 | 7.9 | 48 | 181 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 998.1 | 1003.8 | +5.7 |
| Morning cloud and smoke from the Australian bush files. A few spots of rain around midday them cloud breaking and haze clearing with warm NE to north winds. Wild weather: Dramatic footage shows massive landslide into flooded Rangitata River Thunderstorm watch: 100,000 lightning strikes across the country |
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| 8 | 10.9 | 26.7 | 18.6 | 7.8 | 40 | 178 | North Nth West | 0 | 0 | 997.0 | 1005.0 | +8.0 |
| Variable cloud but mostly sunny in the afternoon with northerly winds. Weather hell: Highways closed, internet down as storm batters nation |
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| 9 | 5.1 | 23.2 | 14.6 | 4.7 | 32 | 106 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 1005.4 | 1019.7 | +14.3 |
| Cool start to the day, sunny with southerly winds turning NE from mid afternoon. Hundreds of tourists evacuated in major airlift after floods and slips close roads Rangitata River flooding damages nine Transpower pylons |
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| 10 | 8.0 | 19.3 | 14.4 | 8.5 | 34 | 192 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 1014.8 | 1019.6 | -4.8 |
| Morning cloud breaking to sunny with NE winds Rangitata River flood risk set to remain for months 'Substantial disruption': Crucial bridge reopens, work continues to restore access on West Coast |
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| 11 | 13.0 | 26.6 | 18.6 | 6.3 | 33 | 144 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 1011.1 | 1016.4 | +5.3 |
| Variable cloud, light NE winds during the day. Oz fires blow high levels of carbon monoxide over NZ |
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| 12 | 11.4 | 20.6 | 15.8 | 8.4 | 44 | 191 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 1008.0 | 1016.2 | -8.2 |
| Morning cloud breaking to a sunny afternoon with NE winds freshening. | ||||||||||||
| 13 | 13.1 | 26.6 | 17.3 | 10.7 | 38 | 245 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 992.3 | 1007.8 | -15.5 |
| Overcast with NE winds easing during the afternoon. Cloud breaking late afternoon with a warmer northerly change. Maximum temperature recorded at 6:30pm. | ||||||||||||
| 14 | 12.3 | 21.7 | 16.4 | 9.3 | 37 | 212 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 996.8 | 1004.9 | +8.1 |
| Morning cloud breaking to a sunny afternoon with fresh NE winds. | ||||||||||||
| 15 | 9.6 | 27.2 | 17.7 | 6.1 | 35 | 139 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 999.3 | 1006.7 | +7.4 |
| Variable cloud with a few spots of rain in a southerly change in the evening. | ||||||||||||
| 16 | 10.6 | 19.0 | 14.5 | 6.3 | 26 | 144 | East Nth East | 0.2 | 0.6 | 1004.5 | 1008.9 | -4.4 |
| Mostly cloudy with a few spots of rain later in the afternoon and light rain in the evening. First recorded rainfall since the 20th November. | ||||||||||||
| 17 | 9.4 | 15.3 | 12.8 | 11.5 | 44 | 263 | South Sth West | 0.4 | 13.4 | 997.3 | 1004.3 | -7.0 |
| Morning rain clearing. Rain returning later in the afternoon. Southerly winds. | ||||||||||||
| 18 | 7.6 | 18.4 | 11.7 | 13.8 | 50 | 313 | South Sth West | 0.8 | 19.2 | 996.0 | 1004.8 | +8.8 |
| Rain clearing by midday with cloud breaking in the afternoon, cool southerly wind. | ||||||||||||
| 19 | 8.0 | 24.4 | 16.5 | 7.1 | 42 | 162 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 986.5 | 1004.6 | -18.1 |
| 20 | 11.5 | 21.4 | 15.4 | 13.4 | 52 | 305 | South Sth West | 0.2 | 0.2 | 985.2 | 1009.0 | +23.8 |
| Nor'west winds in the morning. A strong cool southerly change with a few showers from midday. | ||||||||||||
| 21 | 7.5 | 21.5 | 13.7 | 7.1 | 32 | 161 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 1009.4 | 1015.2 | +5.8 |
| Partly cloudy with light southerly wind in the morning. Cloud breaking from late morning and winds turning NE. | ||||||||||||
| 22 | 12.2 | 21.2 | 15.9 | 11.9 | 40 | 271 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 1002.6 | 1013.0 | -10.4 |
| Variable cloud and haze, fresh NE wind. | ||||||||||||
| 23 | 9.4 | 20.1 | 14.6 | 10.0 | 38 | 228 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 1007.4 | 1015.9 | +8.5 |
| Morning cloud breaking to a mostly sunny afternoon with a freshening NE wind. Record insurance repairs for cars smashed by hail in Timaru |
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| 24 | 9.4 | 20.1 | 14.7 | 7.9 | 36 | 181 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 1012.2 | 1015.6 | -3.4 |
| Sunny with NE wind in the afternoon. Christmas drizzle should be over by lunchtime for Christchurch |
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| 25 | 12.8 | 19.0 | 15.0 | 7.8 | 32 | 176 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 1013.2 | 1020.5 | +7.3 |
| Cloudy with NE wind picking up in the afternoon. | ||||||||||||
| 26 | 12.7 | 20.0 | 15.6 | 10.3 | 42 | 235 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 1015.1 | 1020.5 | -5.4 |
| Mostly cloudy but some sunny intervals in the afternoon with a fresh NE wind. | ||||||||||||
| 27 | 8.5 | 25.2 | 18.2 | 8.6 | 48 | 197 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 1001.1 | 1015.2 | -14.1 |
| High cloud increasing with Ne winds turning gusty NW in the afternoon with cloud breaking. Late southerly change. Weather, temperatures and climate for the decade in New Zealand |
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| 28 | 6.0 | 24.8 | 14.8 | 5.7 | 31 | 129 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 1006.7 | 1016.8 | +10.1 |
| Sunny with southerly wind turning NE in the afternoon with increasing cloud. | ||||||||||||
| 29 | 8.9 | 21.2 | 16.0 | 7.1 | 37 | 162 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 1004.0 | 1016.8 | -12.8 |
| Sunny with some high cloud with NE wind. Climate changed: December our 35th straight month of higher temps |
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| 30 | 13.7 | 21.8 | 16.2 | 3.6 | 20 | 81 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 1005.0 | 1017.1 | +12.1 |
| Overcast with low cloud, a few spots of rain at times, light variable winds tending NE in the afternoon. | ||||||||||||
| 31 | 12.4 | 20.1 | 15.9 | 8.3 | 35 | 189 | East Nth East | 0 | 0 | 1011.2 | 1017.0 | -5.8 |
| Morning cloud breaking to a hazy afternoon with smoke from the Australian bush fires turning the sunshine a orange yellow colour. NE wind. Smoke from Aussie bush fires hits NZ: Hazy skies expected for the next week Christchurch's warmer than average year |
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