Rain for six of last eight weekends

Photo / Richard Robinson

If you're feeling cheated by the weekend weather, you're right.

It's been raining for six of the last eight weekends in Auckland, Tauranga and Hamilton and the North Island has had about 150 per cent of its normal August rainfall.

The only exceptions are Hawkes Bay and Wairarapa, which are on about 80 per cent of average rain, says Niwa senior climate scientist Georgina Griffiths.

But they still have a few days left to catch up.

In Wellington, it has rained on seven of the last eight weekends.

Kaitaia and Coromandel have had double their usual August rainfall, and the Bay of Plenty has broken several records even though the month hasn't finished yet.

Tauranga has had 261mm, 224 per cent of normal, its highest August rainfall since records began in 1898.

However, that's still way off its highest monthly fall of 633mm in May 2005.

Te Puke is sitting at 398mm, 250 per cent of its normal August rainfall and the highest since records began in 1973.

Whakatane recorded 240mm, 214 per cent of normal.

Ms Griffiths said more northerly weather systems and lower pressures near the country were to blame.

Making things worse was that sunlight hours were about 80 per cent down on normal.

"That makes for a pretty gloomy August and people generally feel it," she said.

The MetService painted a rainy picture for most of the country today.

A broad low over the Tasman Sea is pushing a showery northwest flow across the North Island and widespread rain is predicted.