Last year's topsy-turvy weather cost the country at least $1 billion.
A National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research report due this afternoon is expected to show the mix of drought and storms took a heavy financial toll.
The Herald understands the impact of drought onthe dairy industry accounted for most of the cost.
But a wet and stormy winter that wreaked havoc in July and August also had a heavy financial toll. At least four lives were lost, floods cut off towns and tens of thousands of households were left without power. Hundreds of people had minutes to gather important possessions before evacuating their homes.
The report is expected to show winter rainfall was about one and a half times above average in Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Manawatu and Wellington, and more than double the norm in Marlborough and Canterbury.
The number of days with rain was also much higher than average, particularly during July, which included 22 extra days in Auckland.
Paeroa set the standard with 166mm of rain in one day - the highest one-day total in July since 1914.
Insurance companies put the cost of weather-related damage for the year at as much as $300 million.
Earlier in the year heatwaves and droughts plagued farmers and were blamed in some quarters for sparking the recession.
As the mercury regularly soared above 30C in autumn many places recorded their highest March temperatures on record.
The $1 billion total compares to about $800 million caused by the weather in 2006.
