Muggy weather, lots of rain and one or two cyclones are expected in March as the tropics take control of our weather systems.
Muggy weather, lots of rain and more cyclones are expected in March as the tropics take control of our weather systems.
And the graphic below reveals just how much more rain has fallen in your region, compared to normal levels. It's not pretty.
There is no reprieve in sight from this temperamental weather according to MetService meteorologist Georgina Griffiths, who says we can't rule out further tropical cyclones in the third month of the year.
Auckland has been drenched with more than one-third of the normal annual rainfall already during 2018, but no end is in sight, with the upper North Island likely to see a wet start to March.
"I would say the risks are slightly elevated for New Zealand this year because we have really warm seas around the country and we have active tropics at the moment," Griffiths said.
And as you would expect with tropical islands, the intense cloak of humidity over the North Island is set to continue.
But it is not all doom and gloom, with more settled weather expected into the second week of March.
"We have had a muggy and hot February of course, while we might see a cooler few days if Gita passes by, we look likely to return to that warmth as we enter March," Griffiths said.
"Warmth wise, New Zealand looks likely to see a mild March for two reasons; lots of north-easterlies over the country and that mugginess may be on the cards at least to start the month, and also the marine heatwave.
Flooding in Hokitika as the wild weather battered the region earlier in February, 2018. Photo / Joe Morgan Broadcast Media
"Seas around New Zealand remain unusually warm, so we might see cooler spells for a few days, but a mild March and possibly a wetter one for the upper north."
A string of major weather events have made for a wet start to the year - with Niwa reporting total rainfall counts for the country so far have exceeded normal amounts by double in some places.
Greymouth is taking the lead with its total rainfall in 2018 so far sitting at 451mm, followed closely by Hamilton with 418 mm - which exceeds the rainfall count for the same period last year by 216 per cent.
Nelson and Whangarei have had a damp start to the year also, respectively sitting at 376mm and 375mm of rain this year. The Tasman District is up 269 per cent from last year's figure of 140mm.
Auckland has already endured a sodden 287mm - 216 per cent of its normal rainfall for January-February.
Tropical Cyclone Gita is scheduled to pass south of New Caledonia on Saturday before travelling south into the Tasman Sea.
Niwa weather forecaster Chris Brandolino said any impact from the storm in New Zealand is expected early next week on Monday or Tuesday.
"But ahead of that, on the weekend especially, there will be some pretty big swells appearing on the upper north island and the west coast.
"Anyone at the beach, especially on Sunday, should expect larger waves than usual and stronger rip currents," he said.
He said it was too premature to understand where the biggest impact will be.
"But even though it is a really strong tropical cyclone, it is a bit smaller than average so the area that gets significant rainfall is likely to be narrow. That means there will be big differences potentially between areas that get a lot of rain and little rain."
