Current climate – March 2015

March 2015 was characterised by lower pressures than normal over New Zealand, the Tasman and south of Australia. Higher than normal pressures were located south-east of New Zealand. This pressure pattern brought about a north-easterly flow anomaly across the country.

Rainfall

Most of the country received near normal rainfall (within 20% of normal) in March. However, there were pockets with high rainfall, with parts of Buller and Westland and Napier receiving over one-and-a-half times the normal March rainfall (> 150%). There were patches of low rainfall totals in Northland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, northern Canterbury, Otago, and Southland, which received below normal rainfall (50-79%). Localised sites in Canterbury, Otago, Northland, as well as Milford Sound received well below normal rainfall (< 50%).

Temperature

March temperatures were above average (+0.51 °C to +1.20 °C) for most of the country, and numerous sites in all regions except for Otago and Southland experienced well above average (> +1.20 °C) March temperatures. Temperatures were near average (within 0.50 °C of average) for western Waikato, inland and southern Canterbury, coastal Otago, and eastern Southland.

Sunshine

It was a relatively cloudy month for much of the country, with many areas recording below normal sunshine (75-90%) - including parts of Northland, Waikato, Christchurch, and Otago. In most other areas, sunshine was near normal (within 10% of normal), except Dunedin, Taranaki, and western Waikato where it was sunnier than usual (110-125%).

Soil Moisture

As of 1 April 2015, soil moisture levels were well below normal for the time of year for most of the North Island, particularly for western Northland, Waikato, eastern Bay of Plenty, southern Hawkes Bay and the Wairarapa, as well as in the South Island for coastal northern Canterbury and parts of Southland.