Te Puke farmer Rick Powdrell with his rain gauge. Photo / Mead Norton
It was a sunny start to August in the Bay of Plenty yesterday but comes after near-record volumes of rain fell last month.
Niwa says the main driving forces behind the wet weather have been consistently low-pressure systems from the northwest combined with tropical moisture from the Coral Sea.
According to data from MetService, Whitianga had its second wettest July since records began in 1987, with 401.8mm over the month and an average of 200mm. The town's wettest July was in 1998 with 658.4mm.
It was the third wettest July for Whakatāne since records began in 1974, with 238.6mm total and an average of 134mm. Its wettest July had 363.4mm in 2004.
Tauranga also had heavy rain, clocking in at the fifth wettest July in the past century - since records began in 1910, the heaviest July rainfall was 348mm in 1951. This July had 270.7mm, compared with an average of 124mm.
Rotorua had its second wettest July since records began in 1963, with 316.7mm falling over the month. The month's average was 134m. The wettest July there was in 1998, when 345mm fell.
Te Puke farmer Rick Powdrell had recorded 402mm of rain in July over the 21 days where rain was recorded.
He said his sister, who lives higher up in Te Puke, recorded more than 500mm.
July rainfall in past years had been "nothing like this", he said.
"A big part of it is on top of 368mm in June, it's a lot of rainfall basically in eight weeks ... it's a lot of water.
"There's been significant rainfall ... if I went back to last week, the ground was as wet here as I think I've ever known it."
Powdrell recorded 105mm in one day last week.
"The ground's at the point where you only need sort of 4, 5, 6mm and it just resaturates the top because the ground's just so wet."
He said this level of rain "can be quite challenging for stock", because they have to "eat a lot to get the necessary dry matter" when the grass is so wet.
"Younger cattle are probably the ones that suffer the most - it's just being wet all the time."
But he said his stock had coped well because the weather had been warm.
"If we get some nice sunny weather now for a bit and it stays relatively warm, it potentially could set us up for quite a good spring. Time will tell on that one."
MetService communications meteorologist Lewis Ferris said Rotorua and Tauranga were set for a dry week compared with July.
"Looks like some showers will move across the region on Wednesday but there's a chance that coastal areas will remain dry."
He said the "next risk of wet weather comes in the weekend, but people will need to keep up with the forecasts this week to find which of the days is better for outdoor excursions".
Niwa research forecaster Nava Fedaeff said the "main driving forces" behind the heavy rain "have been consistent low-pressure systems approaching from the northwest, combined with tropical moisture from the Coral Sea".
"We have had frequent air flows from the northerly quarter – so originating from a warm and wet place. This is quite different from the southerly and southwesterly systems which are more characteristic of NZ winters.
"Frequent high pressure to the east of the country has also blocked low-pressure systems from moving away quickly and prolonging rainfall."
Meanwhile, the Bay of Plenty system manager of maintenance and operations for Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, Roger Brady, said clean-up and reinstatement works were continuing across the region following recent extreme weather events.
Contractors had been working hard to restore access to communities affected by the impact on the state highway network over the past few weeks, he said.
"Our contractors have responded quickly to the impact of recent weather, and they have really demonstrated their dedication to the communities they serve.
"We have now restored access to the state highway network across the Waikato, Bay of Plenty and through to Tairāwhiti Gisborne, where there has been significant damage."
While in the recovery phase of this work, road users are asked to be mindful that several sites throughout the region are under a temporary speed limit and may have some uneven surfaces too.
Kia ora Aotearoa New Zealand 🇳🇿: Snowy views over Te Waipounamu / South Island leading to a super clear view of Te Ika-a-Māui / North Island over @Wellington_NZ and beyond.
— ISS Above (@ISSAboveYou) August 1, 2022
How was breakfast?
Aug 1, 2022 8:30am NZST @MetService@RocketLab (LC1) @nzspacegovt @Space_Station pic.twitter.com/2hSkA4KmTI
Brady said winter was a challenging time to carry out work and crews are out monitoring and maintaining the network.
"We are working as quickly as possible to resolve these, although for some locations permanent fixes will need to wait for drier weather.
"Our focus will move towards renewing and resurfacing roads when the drier, warmer weather arrives towards the end of the year.
"Wet weather will continue in coming months, roads may need to be closed again at short notice. We recommend road users check the Journey Planner before heading out to ensure they have the latest up-to-date information on road conditions."