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.
The Bay of Plenty was declared to be in the grip of a drought on March 6.
Tauranga's hottest day on March 1, when temperatures peaked at 30C, was the equal second-hottest March day on record, along with 1913.
Te Puke's 30.1C on the same day was the town's hottest March day since records began in 1973.
The town's average temperature for March was 24 degrees.
Niwa said slow-moving anticyclones passing over New Zealand dominated March and kept rain-bearing systems away.
It resulted in a dry and sunny month for many regions.
The exception was the heavy rainfall in the lower North Island on March 18 caused by the remnants of tropical Cyclone Sandra.
MetService meteorologist John Law said today's forecasted rain would clear to showers, with settled weather expected for the weekend. The high-pressure system would stick around into next week.