KEY POINTS:
Sun lovers will need to fit in their final beach excursions of the summer between regular rain showers.
But don't despair - summer is not over yet. The next three months are expected to be warmer than normal with lighter winds, while higher than average sea temperatures are
peaking this week.
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) released its autumn outlook yesterday and said the drenchings for much of the country over the weekend were not necessarily a sign of things to come.
Climate scientist Jim Salinger said sea temperatures were "a little up on normal" at Auckland's beaches, with about 22C being recorded.
The La Nina weather pattern looked set to stay for the next three months, he said, and possibly longer.
La Nina (Spanish for "the little girl") was notable for bringing predominantly east and northeast winds and high sea temperatures to the north of the North Island.
The pattern was likely to make the next three months warmer, but wetter, than other years, Dr Salinger said.
There was still a small chance of at least one more ex-tropical cyclone to pass close to the country, with the north and northeast of the North Island most at risk.
If La Nina did stay as long as winter, that season would also be slightly warmer and wetter, he said.
But despite the predicted wetness, more scorching Auckland days were to come.
March was often warmer than December for much of the North Island, although Dr Salinger noted ever-shortening days would curtail beach trips earlier as the year went on.
The Niwa outlook also provided welcome news for most of the country's drought-stricken farmers.
Wetter conditions, combined with lighter-than-normal winds and shortening days, were likely to increase the moisture content of most of the country's farmland, the report said.
However, the news is not so good for those in Taranaki and Manawatu, with "normal or below normal" soil moisture predicted.
Meanwhile, February was a month of different rainfall extremes, Niwa's national climate survey revealed.
Rainfall was half, or less than half, of normal over much of the North Island from Manukau southwards, and in coastal Otago and parts of Southland.
But rainfall was at least double the annual average in Northland, and north and central Canterbury.
The month was the second and third wettest February since records began for Kaikohe and Kerikeri respectively, and the wettest February on record for Rangiora, in Canterbury.
The month was the sunniest February in New Plymouth since records began in 1933, with 256 sunshine hours far surpassing Auckland's below-average 191 sunshine hours.
February temperatures were slightly above average throughout the country, with the month's average temperature, 17.7C, 0.5C above normal.
Auckland was the warmest of the major centres, Hamilton the driest, Christchurch the wettest and Wellington the sunniest.
Dunedin had the least sun of the major centres, with just 178 sunshine hours.
However, this was 116 per cent of its February average.
TODAY'S WEATHER
* Showers throughout the top half of the North Island today with some heavy showers around the north and Waikato in the late afternoon.
* A southeasterly will bring increasingly fine but "breezy" weather to the Bay of Plenty and central North Island.
* Expect less humidity and temperatures in the low to mid 20s.
