Editorial: Preparing for drought
OPINION: Farmers along the east coast of both islands are being urged to start planning for drought as recent nor'west winds have left soil moisture levels depleted.
NIWA's latest National Climate Summary says it is extremely dry north of Taupo, with about half of normal spring rainfall, and also very dry in Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, and along the West Coast of the South Island.
The report coincides with Greenpeace's latest attack on palm kernel meal imports – often used by dairy farmers to prevent cows starving during droughts. NIWA's weather warning about dry conditions echoes what farmers are experiencing on farms in these regions.
"It was an extremely dry spring north of Taupo, with about half of normal spring rainfall observed in Taupo, parts of the Waikato, Coromandel, north Auckland and Northland," reports NIWA. "It was the driest spring on record for Matamata and Leigh. Spring rainfalls were also below normal (between 50 and 79 percent of spring normal) in Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, and much of the West Coast of the South Island."
In contrast, spring rainfalls were above normal in Southland, Otago and Canterbury, as well as in some locations between New Plymouth and Levin (with totals more than 120 percent of spring normal). Spring rainfall totals were generally close to seasonal normal elsewhere (between 80 and 119 percent of normal).
NIWA says stronger than normal southwest winds affected New Zealand during spring 2011, squeezed between higher than normal pressures over the Tasman Sea and lower pressures to the southeast of the country.
By the end of spring, significant soil moisture deficit (more than 110 mm of deficit) was observed in regions north of Taupo, also Hawkes Bay, Gisborne, Marlborough, and central Otago.
Mean temperatures in spring were above average (between 0.5°C and 1.2°C above spring average) in eastern Northland, Coromandel, and Bay of Plenty. Regions which experienced below average spring temperatures (between 0.5°C and 1.2°C below average) were around the Central Plateau, Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa, Wellington, and Canterbury. Elsewhere, for much of the country, temperatures were within 0.5°C of spring average. The nation-wide average temperature in spring was 11.9°C (0.2°C below the 1971–2000 spring average) using NIWA's seven-station temperature series which begins in 1909.
