Northland events canned and campgrounds empty as summer weather checks out

There is more rain on the way for Northland, after a mix of showers and fine breaks this weekend. Photo / Tania Whyte

Campers have abandoned the region in droves as the wet weather takes the shine off Northland’s longed-for summer.

People will need to make the most of any fine breaks before more bad weather sets in.

The weather is expected to improve for the next few days, with showers rather than the heavy rain that has caused problems for motorists, campers and anyone hoping to get outdoors this week.

Hordes of campers left as the bad weather set in, and several outdoor events were canned.

Bland Bay Campgrounds manager Wayne Johnstone said he has around 15 people staying on the site, where there would normally be 300.

“You can’t blame them. Who wants to come in the middle of lots of rain and wind, especially if you’ve got young kids? It’s not much fun.”

Empty sites at the Bland Bay Campgrounds. Photo / Bland Bay Campgrounds

Out of the “seasoned campers” who have remained, three families are in tents and the rest are in campervans, Johnstone said.

He said they had been lucky to have had four or five years without a cyclone, and a good few weeks leading up to Christmas.

“For a while there, we were getting [a cyclone] every year,” Johnstone said.

The Artisans Market in Whangārei, due to take place today, has been cancelled. The next market will be on January 21. Last night’s Canopy Night Market was also cancelled.

Although the Trigg Family Fun Race Day at Ruakākā Racecourse initially went ahead as planned on Friday, races had to be abandoned due to visibility issues.

Showers were again expected for most of the region both today and tomorrow, particularly later in the day.

However, MetService meteorologist David Miller said parts of the region, at least, should see some fine periods.

“They’re going to be quite scattered. Some places in Northland will be fine, but in other places showers could be reasonably heavy during the afternoons and evenings.”

The Whangārei Town Basin during Wednesday's wild weather. Photo / Tania Whyte

Dargaville had a slightly finer forecast than Whangārei, Kerikeri and Kaitāia, with fine breaks predicted tomorrow.

Temperatures would be warm, with highs of 27C expected in Whangārei.

Afternoon showers were also likely on Monday.

From Tuesday, a subtropical low was expected to approach and could cause heavier rain and stronger wind.

MetService’s severe weather outlook for Northland shows a low risk of severe gales next week, Miller said.

There was still a lot of uncertainty around forecasts for more than three to four days ahead, he added.

“I don’t want to sound alarm bells, but it’s just one to keep an eye on.”

Niwa meteorologist Ben Noll said there would be more rainy weather for periods over the rest of summer, but some better weather was on the horizon for mid-January.

“After the 10th and maybe until the 20th or so we are expecting a period of weather that will be a little bit more settled.”

There will be more bad weather over the next few months with subtropical lows forming, Noll added.

“We’ll be exposed to these subtropical moisture flows coming down from the north, affecting Northland and the northern North Island with some frequency.”

La Nina weather patterns and the current marine heatwave were behind the recent warm, wet weather, Noll said, with ocean temperatures around Northland currently one to two degrees higher than average.

Whangārei and Kerikeri have already received more than the average rainfall for the entire month in the first six days of January.

The average January rainfall in Whangārei was 76mm, but 100mm has fallen so far.

Kerikeri received 91mm on Wednesday alone, with 147mm this month already. The January average is 120mm.

The wet weather caused chaos on the roads this week, including one crash caused by a motorist hitting a tree that had fallen on the road near Ahipara on Tuesday. Two people were killed.

Northland police warned motorists to drive to the conditions by increasing following distances, slowing down and delaying unnecessary travel.