Three consecutive months of dry weather for Gisborne

Makorori was a hive of surfing activity on Thursday as the district enjoys some glorious autumn weather. But rain would be welcomed by the rural sector, as over the last three months the region has received rainfall levels well below the average.

The Gisborne and East Coast region is heading into winter with a soil moisture deficit after a third dry month in a row.

National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) monitoring shows the Gisborne Flats and coastal strip are the most affected areas, with the current deficit around 110mm.

The 30-year average rainfall for February, March and April is about 265mm, but the last three months have had just 112mm.

That is 42 per cent or 153mm short of expected normal rainfall.

With only six days of rain over 1mm, April totalled just over 31mm against the 30-year average of 104.

Colder airflow from the southerly quarter affected 17 days of the month, with just 10 days of warm northwesters or northerlies.

A Niwa graphic shows - in orange - the Gisborne Flats, the East Coast and tip of East Cape are drier than usual for the time of year.

The last week of April saw winter chill and a touch of frost arrive, with five days of grass temperatures below zero.

Temperature-wise, the past month was just a fraction cooler than the April norm. The mean daily temperature at 14.8C compared to the 30-year (1991-2020) average of 15.1C.

Clear skies overnight brought the crispy feeling, with the average daily minimum down to 9.3C compared to the 30-year norm of 10.2C.

Water temperatures off the beach have fallen, with the latest measurements around or below 17.5C - more than a degree cooler than usual for the time of year.