Rainfall numbers show well above average

A view of flooding near Weber in Feburary. Photo / Tararua District Council

The last two months has seen an above-average amount of rainfall and Dannevirke has had its fair share of it.

MetService meteorologist Andrew James said the last two months had been extremely wet.

At the Takapau station, 212mm of rainfall was recorded in the month of January, well above the average of 61mm.

February saw 232mm recorded where it normally averaged around 32mm.

James said the rain in January would likely have been a factor in the amount of damage caused by Cyclone Gabrielle.

He said if the ground was already sodden, there was less capacity to be able to drain any water.

On the MetService blog, head of weather communications Lisa Murray said Gabrielle was one of the worst storms to hit the country in living history.

Between February 12 and 14, between 300 and 400mm of rainfall were recorded in some parts of the country with wind gusts up to 140km/h.

“The impact of Gabrielle was exacerbated by extensive rainfall on 27 January hitting the northern areas (in particular Auckland, Northland and Coromandel Peninsula),” it was stated on the blog.

“This left these regions in a vulnerable state so the rainfall and strong winds from Gabrielle had a more extensive impact due to the sodden ground.”

Cyclone Gabrielle had an impact with above-normal rainfall recorded across most of the North Island, according to Niwa’s climate summary.

Much of the impact was felt on the east coast, from as far north as Tairawhiti to as far south as Wairarapa.

Data from Horizons Regional Council which measured rainfall at two locations showed that almost half of the total rainfall between February 8 and March 7 was experienced on February 15.

At Tamaki Reserve, 140mm was recorded on that day, out of a total of 333mm.

Akitio at Toi Flat recorded 131mm on February 15, out of a total of 290mm.

The heavy rain on the coast prompted Tararua District Council to warn those in low-lying areas to evacuate and move to higher ground.

Damage at Akitio, Pongaroa, Herbertville and Weber ranged from flooding to slips closing roads and it was likely that it would take months or even years to repair.

A state of emergency was declared in Tararua District on February 14 and became part of the national state of emergency.

This was lifted late last week.

The district was now in a transitional period to recovery, which, according to Mayor Tracey Collis would allow the council to lead the recovery at a district level, but with Central Government support.

“This is going to be a long-term effort and the effects will be felt far into the future.”

Some roads were either closed or down to single lanes and the council was continuing to advise district residents to check the council website for any updates on road status.

The outlook for the next three months was that rainfall and temperatures were likely to be around average although Niwa’s forecast stated that La Nina could “still see some sub-tropical and/or tropical low-pressure systems track near the region, occasionally increasing the risk for heavy rain”.

James said the next few days the forecast for Dannevirke was for dry weather, with a spell of showers on Friday.

While the last couple of days had been cool overnight with temperatures to around 9C, it was expected to warm up again for a few days with overnight temperatures being around 16C.

He said there was another system coming out of the south that could bring more rain, which they were keeping a close eye on.