Source: Radio New Zealand
Temperatures are forecast to return to regular January temperatures this week. RNZ / Richard Tindiller
Temperatures are set to return to normal this week after peaking around the country.
MetService meteorologist Ngaire Wotherspoon told Morning Report a number of places reached the mid-thirties over the weekend, driven by a heat wave in Australia.
Napier reached 36.3 degrees on Sunday, its second-highest January temperature since records started in 1973 – beaten only by a record of 36.9 degrees on 11 January 1979.
Strong winds battered the South and lower North Islands yesterday.
Temperatures are still on their way up, but here’s a selection of some of the highest temperatures and strongest wind gusts we’ve seen today so far pic.twitter.com/BRP7k0p15g
— MetService NZ (@MetService) January 11, 2026
Temperatures are forecast to return to regular January temperatures this week.
Rain, wind and thunderstorms are moving up the North Island on Monday, fizzling to showers but reducing those temperatures, Wotherspoon said.
Gusts over 180km/h were recorded at Cape Turnagain, and over 100km/h in Wellington on Sunday are set to ease on Monday morning.
“It’s looking like a much calmer start to the week. That rain and wind is moving up the North Island, but it is very much fizzling out today, most places are only going to see a shower or two,” Wotherspoon said.
“Then, we’ve got a couple of days of calmer weather. We do have some rain moving into the North Island on Wednesday and Thursday, but it’s looking pretty scrappy and we’re not expecting any severe weather for the coming days.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
