A dry April recorded | Taranaki News | Local News in Taranaki

ONCE again Taranaki has experienced another dry month, with rainfall totals at all monitoring sites below what would normally be expected for April. 
Andrew Cotter, Taranaki Regional Council’s Hydrology Officer, said while Stratford had 91% of its normal amount of rainfall, with a total of 115.5mm for the month, TRC’s rain gauges up the mountain showed very low totals.
Dawson Falls recorded 262mm (57%), North Egmont recording 289mm (58%) and the rain gauge at Kahui Hut recording 266mm (69%).
The overall Taranaki average rainfall for April based on all of TRC’s rainfall sites is 58% of normal.
River flows according to TRC’s hydrological monitoring network have been much lower throughout the entire Taranaki region when compared to all previous recorded April flows on record. This of course will be attributed to the low rainfall amounts so far this year.
He said surprisingly average water temperatures are roughly in line with historical records, with no new highs or lows being recorded. The cooler weather would
have definitely have helped in keeping water temperatures down during extended periods of low flow.
NIWA reported that well below normal April rainfall (less than 50 percent) occurred across most of the North Island, as well as in Nelson, Marlborough and north Canterbury. 
It was the driest April on record for Masterton and Culverden.
Areas that received slightly more substantial rainfalls (between 50 and 80 percent of normal) included Taranaki, Gisborne, the Kapiti Coast, and south Canterbury.
Drought was declared for Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, South Taranaki, South Canterbury and Otago in April, joining Northland, which was declared a drought area in January.
Even after some helpful rainfall at the end of the month, significant soil moisture deficits remain in many areas of the North Island (except for Taranaki, Gisborne, and the Kapiti Coast), as well as in Marlborough and Canterbury.