Tauranga has been ranked the sunniest city and equal top spot for driest in March, according to new weather figures.
The city was also 0.1C from joining Auckland for the highest average temperature.
Tauranga's average temperature of 19.4 degrees was 1.2 degrees above normal, meaning it was well above average, according to Niwa.
Rainfall was 21 per cent of what normally fell on the city in March whereas sunshine was 118 per cent of normal.
The drought extended into March, with parts of the Bay of Plenty joining the other northern and East Coast North Island areas as having extreme soil moisture deficits.