Weather Taskforce News Today

Martin De Ruyter/Stuff Dry Weather Taskforce convener Dennis Bush-King says the team is “keeping a close eye on the Waimea and Upper Motueka zones, and restrictions may be needed soon”. “For now, we urge people to conserve water as much as possible in those areas,” Bush-King said. Water from the Kainui dam was being released into the Wai-iti River since Monday to buffer the river flows. The dam was about 84 per cent full mid week, and it was hoped that would be sufficient for the rema...

The La Nina weather pattern is expected to bring more rain to break up the dry periods. NIWA meteorologist Ben Noll said with the country experiencing a La Nina weather pattern in 2021, there was a god chance the region would break the drought pattern of the past three years. “[La Nina] typically brings good rainfall to the North Island and the top of the South Island. This time around it’s a bit on the dryer end of the scale, which is a different flavour to what we would typically get.�...