KEY POINTS:
Water shortages caused by the drought conditions in the South Island could spread to the rest of the country leading to hosepipe bans, weather forecasters warned last night.
Principal scientist for the Niwa National Climate Centre Dr Jim Salinger said the extremely dry weather had contributed to "severe soil moisture deficits" on the east coasts of the main islands.
The big dry has forced a blanket fire ban in the Southland area and from today Dunedin residents will have a ban on the use of sprinklers.
Nelson Airport topped the list of dry zones in the South Island with no rain since February 12.
In the North Island places such as Auckland, which recorded 35mm of rain last month, less than half the February average, suffered as well.
Central parts of the North Island have also been without rain since early last month.
Although Niwa - the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research - predicts "normal" levels of rain for most parts of the country, warmer than normal temperatures for March are expected for Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Nelson, Marlborough and Buller.
Dr Salinger said water restrictions could occur in places further north if storage facilities were not up to it.
"Areas like Nelson, Manawatu, Wanganui and Auckland are all extremely dry for this time of year," he said.
"It is all dependant on a town's water storage facilities but most have systems in place to last for months."
Despite Otago being extremely dry, hydro lake levels appear to be normal.
A spokeswoman for Meridian Energy, Helen Morgan-Banda, said lakes Tekapo and Pukaki, which provide much of the country's electric generation, were at 75 and 83 per cent of their respective capacities.
"That's quite high for this time of year." She said the recent dry period had been offset by rain late last year.
Dr Salinger things should "moisten up" next month and "normal autumn conditions" could be expected throughout the country.
Continued dry weather has already forced Dunedin City Council to restrict water usage.
Stream flows into the city's water catchments had fallen and demand had risen to the point that conservation measures were required, said council water operations team leader Gerard McCombie.
The council would introduce water restrictions from today, prohibiting the use of sprinklers at all times and allowing hose irrigation and car washing from 8pm to 8am only.
Mr McCombie said restrictions would apply right across Dunedin's water distribution areas, from Waikouaiti in the north, Port Chalmers and Portobello in the east, Mosgiel, Outram and West Taieri in the west, and Brighton in the south. They would apply until there had been significant rain in the catchment areas.
