Tasman in running for highest sun hours

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Niwa’s Appleby sunshine monitoring station has identified the area as having some of the highest sunshine hours in New Zealand so far this year.

Appleby has received 1173 hours of sunshine hours, placing it third, just 23 hours shy of sunshine leader Whakatane on 1200 hours and Blenheim with 1182 hours.

Niwa say May was a sunny month for eastern parts of New Zealand from eastern Bay of Plenty down to South Otago. Sunshine was 10-25 percent higher than the same time last year. The northern part of the country remained relatively unchanged from last year.

Niwa’s Nelson station recorded it’s second highest single-day temperature in May since records began in 1943 with 16.6°C recorded on May 7.

Mean temperatures were much higher than average for much of the month across New Zealand with a nation-wide average temperature of 11.2°C. A polar outbreak in late-May did however bring snowfall and severe frosts to many parts of the country, and lowered mean temperatures throughout New Zealand for the month overall.

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