Kerikeri recorded its second wettest summer on record with 767mm - just over twice the normal summer rainfall - and Russell had its fourth highest summer rainfall with 624mm - again, just over twice the summer norm.
But autumn has started off far drier and a bit cooler than usual, the Niwa monthly climate summary for March shows.
Niwa Climate Scientist Gregor Macara said March was characterised by lower-than-normal mean sea level pressure (MSLP) with numerous low-pressure systems tracking in from the Tasman Sea during the month.
‘’After three consecutive years of La Niña, ENSO neutral conditions developed during March, and much of the country observed more frequent westerly winds than normal. Sea surface temperatures in New Zealand’s coastal waters remained higher than average during March, and were the warmest on record for the month of March to the east of the South Island,’’ Macara said.
He said March rainfall was below normal (less than 50-79 per cent of normal) or well below normal rainfall (less than 50 per cent of normal) in Northland, Auckland, northern Waikato, coastal Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, northern Wairarapa and Nelson.
March temperatures were also below average (0.51-1.20C below average) in parts of Northland, Auckland, Waikato, and the Ruapehu District.
‘’March was a dry month for the upper North Island, with rainfall events few and far between. It was especially dry in Russell which received just 8mm of rain - just 7 per cent of the March normal - making it the town’s third-driest March since records there began in 1919,’’ he said.
‘’Whangārei recorded 17mm of rain (14 per cent of the March normal), while Kaitaia, Kerikeri and Dargaville each received less than a third of their normal March rainfall.’’
When it came to temperatures, Whangārei had its lowest-ever March minimum air temperature. On March 30 the district recorded a low of 4.2C, the lowest since records began. On March 31, Kerikeri recorded its third lowest daily temperature since records began there in 1945 with 4.9C.
The nationwide average temperature in March 2023 was 15.9C. This was 0.1C above the 1991-2020 March average from NIWA’s seven-station temperature series which begins in 1909. The highest temperature recorded for the month was 30.5C at Akaroa on March 2.
Niwa predicted that in Northland, for the next month and a half, temperatures are equally likely to be near average or above average (a 45 per cent chance each) while rainfall totals are most likely to be near normal (a 45 per cent chance) or above normal (20 per cent chance). A period of northerly winds in late April may increase the chance for heavy rainfall. Rainfall may tend lower than normal during early winter as southerly winds may become more common.