Daffodils shy away from heavy rains

Even the bright yellow flowers that symbolise spring and the end of winter's weather have not escaped the extreme rain that has drenched the Western Bay in recent weeks.

And the wet is set to continue this weekend.

For the fourth weekend in a row, rain and showers have been forecast for the Tauranga area.

The wet will follow on from a record-breaking amount of rain that fell in July - the wettest July in more than 60 years with 328mm of rainfall recorded in Tauranga that month.

For Katikati woman Claudia Diggelmann, the rain has not helped the fields of daffodils she grows for the Cancer Society.

From her farmland property north east of the township, rows and rows of daffodils are planted but many have not yet bloomed as they traditionally have done each year at this time.

Mrs Diggelmann said she suspected the rain could be responsible. "This is a poor year, and last year wasn't too hot either," she said.

Mrs Diggelmann said she had never known her daffodil crop to be so dire. The senior citizen has grown daffodils for the Cancer Society for more than 10 years.

"I'm a bit disappointed," she said.

"This would be the worst time I've had with them and I've been planting them for years and years.

"My daughter had breast cancer and she lives in Canada. I just thought this could be a little thing to help and usually two to three ladies come out and pick and pick and pick and away they go."

Mrs Diggelmann said she was hopeful another week would help many of her flowers to bloom, albeit late.

However, heavy rain forecast for tomorrow would do little to help.

A rain band is expected to sweep through the Bay of Plenty and down the North Island.

Metservice forecaster Dan Corbett said the rain was expected to hold off until north easterly winds came in this afternoon when the rain would set in.

The rain was expected to get heavier through the evening and continue on Sunday. Given that much of the region's ground was already sodden, the possibility of slips and flooding were more likely, he said.

The weather was not expected to clear until mid-week.