While heavy rain has fallen in the north and east of the North Island in the last few days, parched areas have had no relief.
Marlborough, Canterbury and parts of Otago, as well as Kapiti Coast, are desperate for rain to ease a drought, but forecasters say there appears to benone on the immediate horizon.
More than 15mm of rain has fallen in parts of Northland, Coromandel, the Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and Westland in the past week.
Heavy rain has been forecast for Northland, with 100mm to 125mm expected in some places near the eastern hills from the Bay of Islands to just north of Whangarei.
MetService spokesman Bob McDavitt said meteorologists were forecasting "little if any rain" within the next week for drought-stricken areas.
The dry weather had been caused by a ridge of high pressure "waxing and waning" over the central North Island for the past few weeks.
Some rain was expected around the eastern North Island until tomorrow but another anticyclone was then likely to settle over the Tasman Sea, bringing more dry weather, he said.
Professor Andrew Sturman, a geographer at Canterbury University, said the cooler autumnal weather expected this month could offer some relief.
"Daylight saving ends this weekend and the cooler mornings are now bringing some dew and mist," he said.
"This may be helping to green some of the grass and bring an autumn flush to some of the driest regions, such as Canterbury, where long periods of dry and sunny conditions have dominated the summer."
The dry areas needed 40mm to 50mm of gentle, steady rain to bring soil moisture levels up, said Professor Sturman.
Not all landowners want rain, however. While sheep and beef farmers in Marlborough would welcome a downpour to make the grass grow, vineyards want just the opposite for ideal grape-picking conditions.
