So they keep saying...

Apparently, it's going to be a pleasant "neutral" winter; the Dom-Post reports:

Extreme cold has characterised the first two weeks of winter, but those biting air temperatures and strong winds are not expected to stick around all season.

The country is in a "neutral" weather pattern – neither an El Nino nor a La Nina – meaning conditions could swing from cold weather systems to warmer spells, MetService meteorologist Daniel Corbett said.

"The first couple of days of June, which brought snow to Canterbury, saw a low coming out of the Tasman Sea meeting cold air.

"In the last week we have had cold sou'westerlies that have been more or less stuck over the country, bringing colder air."

Tuesday was the coldest day so far, with temperatures barely making it above 8 degrees Celsius, while strong southerly gusts brought the windchill factor much lower.

The warmest day of the month so far was Wednesday, June 6, with a high of 15.4C. It was also the windiest day with northwesterly gusts of more than 100kmh.

Snow fell on the Rimutaka Hill Rd yesterday, and at 4pm the MetService website said while the actual temperature for Wellington was 7.5C, the "feels like" temperature was just 3C, requiring four clothing layers including one windproof layer.

The "feels like" temperature was the apparent feeling on the skin and took into account the wind's speed and direction, Mr Corbett said. "With wind chill, it feels a lot colder." 

Interestingly, we had to visit Wellington very briefly on the afternoon of Wednesday June 6th. It may have been 15.4C early in the day, but when we arrived around 2.30pm, the temperature gauge in our car showed just 5C; the southerly that brought snow to Canterbury had arrived with a vengeance. And it's been chilly ever since.

MetService may well be right; there might be milder weather ahead. But just because they keep saying it, doesn't make it so, and so we'll believe it when we feel it. Two weeks in to winter, our verdict is thus: brrrrr!

PS - Turoa Skifield on Mt Ruapehu is scheduled to open today; very early compared with recent seasons. But at the moment they are on hold until 9am as it is snowing!