Far below average rainfall for third January in row

Still no respite from the warm sunny weather in Rotorua.

January's weather statistics won't come as a surprise to many in Rotorua - they show it was a very warm and dry month in the city.

And it's looking like staying warmer than normal for the rest of summer.

Data compiled by Springfield-based weatherman Brian Holden showed total rainfall for the month of just 29.4mm. He said the average rainfall for January was 106mm.

Temperatures were also high with an average maximum temperature of 26.7C compared to the monthly average of 18C.

There were only eight days in January that it rained with the most on the 28th, when there was thunderstorms and 11.3mm of rain. Temperatures soared on the 24th reaching 29.3C while the coolest day of the month was Saturday with a maximum of 22.2C.

Mr Holden said Rotorua had had three consecutive dry summers in a row.

"In January 2013 we had 12.5mm of rain and normally for the month of January we get about 100mm. In January 2014 we had 29mm of rain," he said. "So three years in a row we have been well below par."

The balmy weather is set to continue according to a climate outlook released by National Institute of Water and Atmosphere (Niwa) last week.

It said from now through to April the Bay of Plenty region can expect warmer-than-normal temperatures while soil moisture and river flow levels were predicted to be in the near or below normal range.