The year 2020 will forever be etched in our minds because of the global pandemic. Today, however, we look back at the past year for its notable weather data, gathered by Plant & Food Research. The data collection is funded by the Marlborough Research Centre and links into a range of research programmes undertaken by Plant & Food Research.

Temperature

· 2020 was Blenheim’s 9th hottest year on record (1933-2020). However, it is worth noting that of the 10 hottest years on record for Blenheim (1933-2020), seven of those 10 years have occurred since 2010.

· All five years 2016 to 2020 are in the top 10 hottest years on record for Blenheim.

Rainfall

· 2020 was one of Blenheim’s lowest rainfall years on record. The 2020 rainfall total is in the lowest 10 percentile: 1930-2020)

· Total rainfall for 2020 was 461.4 mm, 72% of the long-term average (1930-2019) of 641.3 mm.

· This is the 9th lowest total on record for Blenheim (1930 – 2020) and the lowest annual total since 2015

· The 2015 total of 381.6 mm is the lowest annual total on record for the 91 years 1930 to 2020.

Frosts

· Only 37 ground frosts were recorded in Blenheim during 2020; 14 less than the long-term average of 51.4 (1986-2019)

· This is the lowest number of ground frosts on record for Blenheim over the 89 years 1932 to 2020.

Plant & Food Research provided monthly meteorological summaries which are published on our website.