November saw a cooler month to most of the country, with rainfall below normal levels.

The NIWA (National Institute of Atmospheric Research) climate summary of November shows New Zealand experienced a cool end to spring.

Radar image from 3pm, November 6, showing the heaviest rain and hail in white and green colours in the Bay of Plenty during a storm which saw hail 15mm in diameter and 60 lightning strikes. Image: MetService.

November 2014 was characterised by air pressures which were lower than normal over New Zealand and to the south of the Chatham Islands, with higher pressures than normal present in the north Tasman Sea.

This pressure pattern resulted in westerly flow anomalies over the country.

Southerly outbreaks occurred frequently during the month, and these contributed to the changeable and generally unsettled weather that characterised the month for many parts of the country.

Cold fronts associated with these southerly outbreaks triggered a number of thunderstorms, with many locations observing lightning and hail at least once during the month.

The east of both islands had above-normal sunshine, as did the northern South Island - but Blenheim got more sun than Nelson.

The Bay of Plenty was one of many regions, including Nelson, Marlborough, Wellington, southern Wairarapa and the East Cape, especially affected by dry soil - a problem that seems to be continuing this month.

Soil-moisture levels were above normal in the southern and northernmost parts of the country.

November was particularly wet for southern parts of the South Island, which had double their normal rainfall.

Unseasonable snow was recorded in Hanmer Springs on November 5, with Mount Hutt ski area - having closed for the season - receiving a dusting of approximately 25 centimetres.

Rainfall was below normal (50-79 per cent) or well below normal (50 per cent). in the Bay of Plenty, Central Otago, South Canterbury, Nelson, Marlborough, Kapiti Coast, Hawke's Bay, Gisborne, the Coromandel Peninsula and Auckland.

Conversely, rainfall was above normal (120-149 per cent) for western and southern parts of the South Island.