Dunedin hit a near-record high in sunshine hours last month, ‘‘well above'' normal, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research says.
A Niwa report stated Dunedin had 129% of normal sunshine hours in November, the third highest recorded for the city. There was a total of 216 hours of sunshine.
Niwa National Climate Centre principal scientist Chris Brandolino said El Nino had likely played a part.
‘‘I would think El Nino would have had something to do with it,'' Mr Brandolino said. ‘‘There was a bit of an El Nino influence there. The westerly quarter flow [common during an El Nino] had an effect.''
The highest number of sunshine hours recorded in Dunedin for November was 252 in 1949.
In somewhat of an anomaly, Mr Brandolino said Dunedin's rainfall during November was near-normal. This was unusual for high sunshine hours. He said a likely reason might be that most rainfall happened during night hours or in a large succession.
‘‘You could have had all your rainfall at once,'' he said.
The sunshine hours did not reflect Dunedin's temperatures in November, however.
It was the coolest of the six main centres in New Zealand for the month.
Not to be outdone, Balclutha also had a near-record high in sunshine hours, 140% of normal, with 234 hours. It was the third highest since 1964.
Both Dunedin and Balclutha recorded more sunshine hours in November than Auckland.
Mr Brandolino said Niwa did not forecast sunshine hours but El Nino was a ‘‘100% certainty'' to continue though to the end of summer.
‘‘We'll have to see what happens going forward as we are expecting more westerly winds.
‘‘A lack of rainfall would bode well for sunnier days.''
Blenheim had the highest number of sunshine hours in the country for November with 280, while Franz Josef had the lowest with 144.
