The province received between 50mm and 150mm in two rainfalls seven days apart after the prevailing weather dramatically changed from westerly to north-easterly.
That allowed the usual summer tropical influence to appear for the first time, following two months without rain.
Other dry parts of the country were also wet – Hawke’s Bay and East Coast received 75mm to 150mm and Central Plateau and Bay of Plenty up to 200mm.
Napier and Hastings got 100mm over four days between February 16 and 19, putting a dampener on the Art Deco Festival and Tauranga got 140mm over the same period.
NIWA reported soil moisture deficits that had been up to 100mm had halved and a large zone through the middle of the North Island, from western Hawke’s Bay north to Tauranga, returned to field capacity.
The SPI Drought Index was now near normal or wet across the whole of the country with the exception of East Cape, North Canterbury and inland Mid Canterbury, which were moderately dry.
Northland Rural Support Trust co-ordinator Julie Jonker said farmers’ morale had gone up with the rain and reappearance of green shoots.
“Follow-up rain is needed because if it turns dry and hot again that rain won’t be sufficient to see us through until winter.
“Feed shortages remain until the grass starts to grow again.
“The trust is continuing with its rural community barbecues where our rural professionals and committee members get alongside farmers and chat over the situation.”
Jonker had received some inquiries about Rural Assistance Payments and felt more farmers could avail themselves of that government support, especially if their income didn’t cover farm expenses.
“The Government is not automatically handing out money so if no-one applies or qualifies for the RAPs, there will be no cost to the taxpayer of the drought declaration.”
In response to suggestions that perhaps the declaration had been made too early, she said that at that time there was no forecast of the change in weather pattern.
“Rural people were hurting and will continue to do so. For many dairy farmers the season has been lost because they are not going to recover lost production.
“A lot went on to once-a-day milking and they won’t go back to twice-a-day because milk production won’t pick up but costs will rise,” Jonker, herself a dairy farmer, said.
Potential increases in facial eczema spores and somatic cell counts would needed to be watched closely.
Hawke’s Bay trust co-ordinator Lon Anderson said the region’s 100mm of rain had been very welcome.
“We were touch-and-go, in dire need of some rain to recharge the dams, rivers and ground water.
“The fire risk was extreme, as the rest of the country saw with that Havelock North-Waimarama fire.”
Anderson said East Coast weather seemed to come in chunks and now the pattern appeared to have shifted.
Although it was again hot, the westerly winds had not reappeared.
“We need a good autumn because we didn’t get one last year and the rams are going out to ewes without good condition.
“There has been a big exodus of mainly lambs, going south, so after the rain hopefully farmers can now feed what is left.”
