March delivered just over half the 'normal' rainfall in Kaitaia - 41.6mm on 10 days compared with the average of 81.8mm on 12 days - but that only made it the driest March since 2013.
That took the total for the first three months of the year to 51.4mm on 17 days, compared with 118.6mm on 22 days over the same period last year and the average of 260.7mm on 30 days.
NIWA's expectations for the next three months in Northland are that temperatures will be higher than average, rainfall near average, soil moisture and river flows below average.
Meanwhile last month was a relatively uneventful one according to NIWA's summary of the climatic highlights. Kaitaia did, however, record its equal-third-highest daily maximum air temperature for March, 28.6 degrees Celsius, while Cape Rēinga recorded its equal-third-highest daily minimum air temperature, 19.9 degrees.
Kaitaia and Kaikohe each recorded their fourth-highest daily minimum air temperatures for March, 21.2 and 19.8 degrees respectively.
