Also it appears to be 26c in Christchurch, NZ at 3am, with the peak not
happening until evening. How unusual is this?


Can't be anything other than rather freakish, the mean temp for
Christchurch in January being a rather boring 16.5°C. But I've looked at the
GFS charts and it's quite explicable. There was a strong warm NW'ly flow and
the warmth must certainly have been föhn-assisted given the height of the
mountains in NZ South Island. Temperatures over 40°C have been recorded a
little inland from Christchurch.

Tudor Hughes, Warlingham, Surrey.