Drought

A weekly update describing soil moisture patterns across the country to show where dry to extremely dry conditions are occurring or imminent.

Moderate soil moisture increases in the western North Island and in the Far North, while soil moisture decreases were observed along the east coast and Wairarapa. Many parts of the South Island saw small soil moisture increases during the past week, although small decreases were observed in northern Canterbury.

In the North Island severe meteorological drought coverage has again receded significantly in the past week, although it is still widespread in the Coromandel Peninsula. Meteorological drought remains in place across parts of Northland, Auckland, northern Waikato, and East Cape. Meteorological drought has completely dissipated across the upper South Island, although widespread dry soils are still present.

Across the North Island, slight soil moisture increases were observed during the past week as a front brought much needed rain to drought affected areas. However, soil moisture levels continue to be well below normal across the vast majority of the island. Across the South Island, soil moisture levels generally increased in the north and decreased in the south during the past week.

Across the North Island, the past week once again featured little if any rainfall for most locations. Soil moisture levels in the lower South Island have improved markedly from last week.