I last talked about meteorological v. astronomical seasons in September, at the start of Spring. I said:
I suppose I should restate that I couldn’t possibly care less which date one chooses for the start of seasons—meteorological or astronomical—however, I’ll continue to use the meteorological dates because the first of the relevant month is always the first, whereas solstices and equinoxes change dates and times with every visit… [snip] I think most of us find remembering the first of the relevant month is pretty easy to do, and since the weather is so variable until well into each season, picking either date is equally valid if a change in the weather is what we think of (or maybe hope for) at the start of a season: We have pretty much the same chance to be thrilled or disappointed.It doesn’t matter at all what date people choose to mark as the start of seasons—except when it does, and that’s all about us personally. I loathe winter, with its shorter, darker, wetter, and colder days, the exact opposite of summer (obviously). In summer, I get plenty of free electricity to use, and the excess power I produce reduces the amount I pay to buy electricity. In winter, I generate less, and so, pay more, by midwinter, a lot more.
Life isn’t about money and costs alone, of course, but both are things we have to deal with, and they often unfairly constrain us. The bigger issue for most of us is what we might call quality of life: How does daily life feel? I always feel better and, well, brighter in the longer, warmer days of summer than I do in shorter, colder days of winter. Spring and Autumn are often mixed bags because the seasons are.
So, while the timing of the start of summer doesn’t really matter, many of us nevertheless notice the seasonal changes in weather, and we probably associate the start of seasons with particular dates. For me, it’s definitely the meteorological dates which are usually closer to when the weather is noticeably different (to me, the solstices and equinoxes seem to arrive well after the weather has started to change). Even for me, though, there’s a lot more to it than the date.
This has been a very difficult year for me, and I welcome the warmer, brighter, longer days because I know from a lifetime’s experience that I thrive in summer—and I really need that right now. While I may not care what date others choose for the start of seasons, I need summer right now, so it’s fortunate that I embrace meteorological seasons. And, that money I save over summer is another nice thing about the season. In fact, since summer in Hamilton is often hot and dry, that could mean less frequent lawn mowing this summer, and that'd be nice, too.
There’s no way of knowing what sort of summer we’ll have, though NIWA is predicting warmer than average says for all of New Zealand. NIWA meteorologist Chris Brandolino told RNZ’s Morning Report that "Overall, the theme will be that we'll see warm days will outweigh the cool days, and warm will certainly be a theme over the next three months." NIWA also expects a La Niña weather pattern to develop later in the summer.
In any summer, tropical cyclones are a potential threat, and back in October, NIWA said that “tropical cyclone activity for the coming season indicates normal to below normal activity”, but also that they were expecting “normal or elevated activity” for northern New Zealand. Most years, we don’t get a direct hit from tropical cyclones, just the remnants, if anything, but sometimes those remnants can be almost as bad as a cyclone. The normal tropical cyclone season runs from November through April, but they can occur out of season.
I’m hoping for a normal summer—warm, dry days with plenty of sunshine, and no cyclones. But, really, the weather will be whatever it’ll be. It’ll be summer, regardless.
The graphic up top is what I posted on my personal Facebook Page today.
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