Rain falls in Auckland every single day this month

Even for August standards, this has been a pretty dreary month. Photo / Michael Craig

By RNZ

Rain has fallen in Auckland every single day this month, following a record dry start to the year, according to Niwa.

National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) principal forecaster Chris Brandolino said their weather station at Māngere has recorded 23 rain days in August.

"A rain day is when we observe at least some measurable rain, 0.1mm or greater," Brandolino explained.

He said the record number of rain days for any month was 28 days, and this August could be close to or even break that record.

"During August we typically get 20 rain days out of 31, where we get at least some measurable amount of rain, and we've already exceeded that," he said.

"Even for August standards, this has been a pretty dreary month, either looking at the number of days that has rained or the amount of rain that has fallen."

Brandolino said the weather was on the right track, which could be good news for water supply in the city.

The weather station at Māngere has recorded 23 rain days in August. Photo / Michael Craig

However, Watercare, which treats and supplies most of the water in Auckland, said it needed a lot more rain.

Its head of water value Roseline Klein said the volume of rain falling in the Hunua Ranges, where the city's four major dams were, had been normal.

"Water storage level has risen 4 per cent in the dams to 75.7 per cent last week," she said.

"While we're really pleased that this is heading into the right direction, the historical average for this time of the year is 89 percent. So we still have a significant deficit."

Klein said they still wanted people to be conscious of how much water they are using.

-RNZ