Havelock North farmer Bruno Chambers in a paddock of knee-deep grass after the heavy rains - it's the most he has seen at this time of year in his farming career. Photo / Warren Buckland
Havelock North farmer Bruno Chambers in a paddock of knee-deep grass after the heavy rains - it's the most he has seen at this time of year in his farming career. Photo / Warren Buckland
Many parts of Hawke’s Bay have already experienced their wettest year on record, and forecasters say there’s still a summer of probable above-average rain to go.
One-third of the more than 40 rainfall sites monitored in real-time by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council had by the end of November recorded theirhighest-ever annual dousings.
Places like Napier and Hastings have already seen about one-and-a-half times as much rain this year so far as what fell all of 2021.
Dr Kathleen Kozyniak, the council’s team leader of marine, air and land science, said all of the 40-plus sites were wetter than usual.
“Rainfall for the year to date varies between about 110-158 per cent of average rainfall at our sites,” Kozyniak said.
She said 2022 was already the wettest year on record for 14 monitored sites, while other sites were varied in how close they were to surpassing their wettest year.
“The December totals required to make 2022 the wettest year at other sites range from 25 millimetres to 640mm, depending on location,” she said.
“The higher totals are generally for sites in the ranges that typically get higher annual rainfall than lowland sites, especially the sites in the Ruahine/Kaweka Ranges.”
“Being in the southwest of the region, they have been a little less affected than other areas by the La Niña pattern that tends to bring us rain on northerly and easterly wind flows.”
Havelock North farmer Bruno Chambers said he could not remember there being a wetter year during his time farming.
“Certainly in the last 40 or 50 years, it is hard to recall a year that has been as wet in the later half of the late winter, early spring.”
He said he thought most farmers, particularly sheep and beef or dairy farmers, would be pleased with the amount of rain, but it would be a very different story for those growing crops or running orchards.
“The croppers and orchardists and so on have been pulling their hair out because they haven’t been able to get into fields that are flooded, they haven’t been able to sow half their contracted crops and all the orchardists have had to spray a lot more because of the wet weather.”
At a regional council recording site on Kaiapo Rd in Hastings, 868.5mm of rain has fallen so far in 2022, up to November 23.
In comparison, annual total rainfall at the site was measured at 544mm in 2021, 558mm in 2020, 646.5mm in 2019, and 853.5mm in 2018.
At a recording site in Napier’s CBD, 864.5mm of rain has fallen so far in 2022, up to November 23.
Annual total rainfall at the site was measured at 524.5mm in 2021, 647mm in 2020, 566.5mm in 2019, and 757mm in 2018.
At a recording site in Waipukurau, 867.6mm of rain has fallen so far in 2022, up to November 23.
Annual total rainfall at the site was measured at 606.2mm in 2021, 530.4mm in 2020, 550.8mm in 2019, and 890.2mm in 2018.
Finally, a recording site along the Wairoa River, at Railway Bridge, has seen 1690mm of rain so far in 2022, up to November 23.
Flooded paddocks on State Highway 2 near Ōtāne, Central Hawke's Bay, on November 10 after heavy rain. Photo / Paul Taylor
Previously, annual total rainfall at the site was measured at 1006.5mm in 2021, 1129mm in 2020, 1003.282mm in 2019, and 1334.718mm in 2018.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council notes on its website that from time to time, communication links or instrumentation breaks may lead to the under-reporting of rainfall from the real-time feed.
Niwa’s Seasonal Climate Outlook for summer indicates that rainfall totals are likely to be near normal (35 per cent chance) or above normal (40 per cent chance) for Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne, and Wairarapa.
The report said more frequent onshore winds may lead to more wet days for those areas, and occasional tropical moisture plumes are also possible, particularly for northern Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne.
