RAIN, RAIN, BUT NOT EVERYWHERE
Rainfall for January was above normal across most of Taranaki but parts of the region remain extremely dry.
All but two of the sites monitored by the Taranaki Regional Council recorded between 109 and 292 per cent of the average rainfall for the month.
Exceptions were Kapoaiaia (Cape Egmont) with 88 per cent of normal rainfall and Taungatara (Te Kiri) with 89 per cent.
Both sites are in the west of the region, an area hard-hit by drought this summer.
TRC data analyst Fiona Jansma said the majority of the rain fell on January 4, 5 and 18, with the region experiencing warm, dry days since January 24.
Rainfall was recorded on as little as five days at Manaia and up to 14 days at Egmont Village, Jansma said.
‘‘The rainfall site Omaru at Charlies Clearing [Eastern Hill Country site], recorded a rather impressive 292 per cent of normal rainfall with 269 millimetres for the month,’’ she said.
A thunderstorm on January 29 produced 52.5mm of rain in just over an hour at the site.
Niwa’s Hotspot Watch shows Taranaki has some of the North Island’s driest soils compared to normal for this time of the year, with the west of the region’s coast especially hard hit.
Taranaki Rural Support Trust chairman Mike Green said conditions on the coast this summer were the worst in 40 years, with some dairy herds completely dried off before Christmas, as much as six months ahead of schedule.
The outlook for farmers was brighter inland and further north, where more rain had fallen in the weeks since drought was declared in December.
Federated Farmers Taranaki president Donald McIntyre said although most sheep and beef farmers were ‘‘doing OK’’, the tough conditions had hit production on many dairy farms.
However, if the region continued to get regular rain, some farmers could begin to turn their difficult season around.
‘‘We are eternal optimists. We like to think things are headed in the right direction and so you farm accordingly,’’ he said.
‘‘If we get rain for a couple of days every week or so, it could help turn things around.
‘‘In those conditions you could get some people who are able to milk the cows they’ve got left through to within 60 days of calving and at the higher payout, they could be OK.’’
Niwa principal scientist Chris Brandolino said temperatures in Taranaki were likely to remain high through February but more unsettled weather was on the way.
‘‘For the next three months as a whole, we’re expecting temperatures to be higher than usual, ‘‘ he said. ‘‘In Taranaki, rainfall is likely to be above average but there’s no way of knowing how that will be distributed, whether it will be one significant event or lighter, more regular rainfall.’’
As well as Taranaki, the Tararua District (Manawatu-Whanganui) and Gisborne had extremely dry soils compared to normal.
The driest soils across the South Island compared to normal for this time of year are found in coastal Buller, however the only hotspot in the South Island is in Southland.
In the seven days to February 9, soil moisture levels were generally down in the southwest of the North Island and up in the north.
A front over the Tasman Sea was expected to bring wet weather to the west late in the week, with Niwa predicting rainfall above or much above normal levels in the North Island, with current hotspots expected to shrink or be eliminated.
In the South Island, normal or above normal rainfall was expected in the west, north and east but below normal was possible in the far south, which could allow the hotspot in Southland to persist.