Tūrangi saw an impressive 618mm of rain, 150 per cent more than usual for the season, making for its fourth-wettest spring on record.
The high rain levels caused disruption across the district.
Apii Tarapi of Lawnrite Taupō said it meant some issues for his business.
“The rain was a pain in spring and didn’t help. It was slowing me down, but didn’t stop me,” Tarapi said.
“The grass has been pretty green over the last few days, which is unusual at this time of year.”
He said it meant some last-minute changes for his scheduling to dodge the worst of the rain, keeping him on his toes.
Similarly, Taupō District Council’s district parks manager Greg Hadley said it made his staff’s work much more difficult.
“From a parks team perspective, the weather is unprecedented,” Hadley said.
“The team has carried on mowing through the rain, but the grass growth remains high. We have an additional five students who are assisting, but the team is struggling to keep up.
“Generally, at this time of year, the team would be managing seed heads rather than the lush grass we’re currently seeing.”
Resident weather expert Bevan Choat said that while this year has been particularly severe for rain, it’s likely to all be part of the wider weather pattern.
“It goes in cycles; at the moment, we’re in a very wet cycle,” Choat said.
“It is a climatic change. We’re getting a lot of tropical air down, which is unusual, and which is causing the muggy weather we’re seeing.”
However, Choat predicts that the end of the rain should be in sight.
“Weather has a tendency to level itself out.
“It’s likely that we’re going to have long periods of dry weather in the next few months.”
Read his weather report on page 3.
