On average (35 sites) the Hawke’s Bay region received 60% of normal rainfall during the period 1 September 2008 to 31 March 2009. Leading into summer, the spring months were noticeably drier than usual, particularly September 2008 which received 40% of normal rainfall for the month. December had near normal rainfall as did February in the new year, although January was relatively dry throughout the region, particularly in Central Hawke’s Bay.
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For the period from September 2008 to March 2009, Southern Hawke’s Bay received half of average rainfall for the same area. Totals from the 35 rain gauges analysed, all received below normal1 rainfall. The driest areas in the region from September to March inclusive were Southern Hawke’s Bay, the Ruataniwha Plains, the Heretaunga Plains and Tangoio.
Southern Hawke’s Bay was the driest area with an average of 294mm of rain falling during the September 2008 to March 2009 period. In this area we would normally expect around 570mm rainfall on average for the same period in the same area.
February was the wettest month for this period with 25% more rainfall recorded than would normally be expected, March however started on a dry note, with an average of one third of normal rainfall received throughout the region.
For access to Counci’s monthly State of Environment reports which include monthly rainfall updates Click the following.
Monthly SOE reports are normally available on Council’s website by the 10th day of each month.
