Niwa predicts wetter summer for Kāpiti Coast, drier for next two weeks

View of the Kāpiti Coast from the Paekakariki Hill Rd summit. Photo / David Haxton

People along the Kāpiti Coast may be in for a wetter summer.

On Friday, November 29, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) released its seasonal climate outlook for December 2024 to February 2025 and forecaster Chris Brandolino said the Kāpiti Coast may experience big rain events in the middle of December.

“The inland areas and the Tararuas may be the exception,” Brandolino said.

However, residents can expect the next 10-14 days to be drier than previous years.

The outlook states temperatures have a 60% chance of being above average, with rainfall totals having a 40% chance of being near normal or 35% chance of being above normal.

He said while he can’t confirm if Christmas will be sunny, the current trend suggests a possibility.

“As we get close to Christmas and if the timing goes as expected, we could see it drying toward Christmas. We’re still a few weeks away from being able to confirm that trend.”

He said while it doesn’t look like there will be any big rain events, the exception could be the inland areas of Tararua and the Kāpiti Coast.

“As we head into January, we could start to see rain events heading into January.”