Weather Eye with John Maunder

Temperatures have been recorded in the Tauranga area at several sites during the last 100 years, including at the current Tauranga Airport site from June 1990.

The graph shows details of the average daily maximum temperatures, called simply ‘afternoon', for Tauranga for December from 1913-2013.

The long-term average afternoon temperature in December for Tauranga is 22.1 degrees Celsius, ranging from the ‘cool' December months of 2004 (20.1 degrees Celsius), 1968 (20.5 degrees Celsius) and 1944 and 1951 (both 20.7 degrees Celsius), to the ‘warm' December months of 1940 (24.4 degrees Celsius), 1937 (24.0 degrees Celsius), and 1990 (23.8 degrees Celsius).

The graph of the average afternoon temperatures for December shows generally normal variations from December to December during the last 100 years.

The average December afternoon temperature during the 50 years from 1963 to 2011 of 22.2 degrees Celsius, is exactly the same figure recorded in the 50 years from 1914 to 1961.

The average afternoon temperature in December 2013 was 22.8 degrees Celsius.

From 1913 to 2013, there have been 23 December months with an average afternoon temperature of 23 degrees Celsius or more, and 12 December months with an average afternoon temperature of less than 21 degrees Celsius or less.

The seven warmest December months (in terms of afternoon temperatures), on record, in chronological order, are 1930, 1934, 1937, 1940, 1990, 1993, and 1994.

By contrast, the seven coolest December months (in terms of afternoon temperatures), on record, in chronological order, are 1921, 1946, 1951, 1962, 1968, 1977, and 2004.

For further information on climate and climate matters, see:https://sites.google.com/site/climatediceandthebutterfly/