Summer in Eastbourne, Wellington. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
For many Kiwis this summer, the temperatures have not reached the heights of previous years, and there is a reason for that.
While some have had hot days, temperatures over the past few weeks for most of the country have been a far cry since the start of summer, when heat alerts were placed for upwards of 30C.
MetService meteorologist Mathapelo Makabulane says the culprit is a "large low-pressure".
"That's shifted to the east of us, and then a high-pressure system to the west," she told Morning Report.
"Those coming together to feed cold air from the south of us, and that's what we've been feeling over the last few weeks."
But she expects temperatures to return to normal after this week.
"This week, we are looking at those cooler than average temperatures, especially for those places that have been on the cool side.
"Next week, something similar, and we could see a return back to average temperatures the following week."
"I think it is important to note that there are some places that have been average temperatures...west of the South Island, even parts of Bay of Plenty, and in between all of these cold temperatures, we are expecting warming days. "
She said Tuesday was not looking too bad for the rest of the country.
But there is a heavy rain watch issued for the Wairoa District until 3am Tuesday.
The heaviest donwpour is expected Monday until afternoon, with a small chance of upgrading to a warning.
"It has been very similar conditions over the last few days due to that low-pressure system...it's just feeding constant moisture onto that part of the country," Makabulane said.
"It has been fairly dry there towards the end of last year, and then it's been very, very wet, and we're expecting more of this rain on top of what has already fallen."
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
