Miserable month in Auckland doesn't beat record for rainiest July

Auckland was not the place to be on July 6. Photo / Geordie Lindsay-Russell

Auckland didn't even come close to breaking the record for the rainiest July this year, but it did make a solid effort at beating the record for the most rainfall in one hour.

Most can agree the weather has been fairly dismal this winter, with the entire country battered by a parade of storms.

Auckland has so far had 17 rainy days out of 25, with a total rainfall figure of 163mm.

It's well over the mean rainfall of 129.3mm for July, but the area would need a drastic drenching over the next several days to come anywhere near the wettest July ever recorded.

Metservice meteorologist Ravi Kandula said the rainiest July every recorded was in 1998, when a whopping 304.4mm of rain fell over 24 days.

To qualify as a rainy day, at least 1mm of rain must have fallen.

The numbers around Auckland's rainfall were taken from Auckland Airport, which Kandula said was a good indicator of the city's general weather.

The heaviest amount of rainfall in one day during July was 40.4mm, but so far this year Auckland's worst day of rainfall brought in 29.4mm.

But when it comes to the heaviest rainfall in an hour, Auckland comes close to beating the top contender.

Historically, the most rainfall in one hour is 10.8mm. This year, 9.4mm fell in the hour between 4-5pm on July 6, which was also the day with the highest total rainfall for the month.

That day saw flooded homes, watery roads, and rush-hour disrupting hail as storms rolled over the city.

The weather temporarily grounded and diverted planes, brought down slips, and flooded shops.