No end in sight for North Island drought

The central Hawkes Bay near Waipawa is just one area hit hard by the lack of substantial rain. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The North Island drought is unlikely to be broken this month, with nothing but scattered showers on the horizon over the next 10 days.

WeatherWatch analyst Richard Green said showers overnight and this morning were easing, and the remainder of March was forecast to be mostly dry.

There could be a few scattered showers, with Northland and northern Auckland likely to get some late next week, but not enough to saturate parched areas.

"The drought conditions will ease more gradually than just one rainy event,'' Mr Green said.

"Drought areas across the North Island; I can't see anything over the next 10 days that would give any more than 10 millimetres of rain.''

Mr Green said more anticyclones were expected to keep the rain at bay over the next two to three weeks, but a couple of fronts might deliver showers in the south and west of the South Island towards the end of the weekend.

"A few could drift north, but nothing to the degree or the saturation of what you've seen this week.''

The Easter break would be largely dry, with parts of the West Coast of the South Island getting some rain or bursts of showers.

April had more potential for rainy spells, but a prolonged wet spell was not anticipated at this point.

Mr Green said there would be further changes to the weather patterns next month, but the drought conditions would gradually ease, rather than be broken by a widespread heavy rain event.