Auckland has officially recorded its average annual rainfall, and we’re not even halfway through the year.
As of Friday morning, Auckland Airport ticked over 1193mm of rain, 3mm above the supercity’s annual norm.
”We’re just shy of 6 months into 2023 and already several of our weather stations have recorded their annual average rainfall,” MetService Meteorologist Andrew James said.
Between the Auckland Anniversary flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle, most won’t be surprised to learn that it’s been an especially wet year.
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During the Auckland Anniversary floods, 71mm of rain poured down in a single hour, with a total of 250mm falling over 24 hours, causing widespread damage to the land and Auckland homes, with some still not able to return.
Auckland Airport ticked over 1193mm on Friday morning, 3mm above the annual average, and Whenuapai recorded 1270mm against an annual average of 1231mm.
David White/Stuff
Auckland hit its annual rainfall count, and it’s only June.
Back in May, University of Auckland Associate Professor Anthony Fowler assessed the Albert Park weather station data.
He found that May not only tipped the city closer to 100% of its annual average rainfall, but also beat a more than 100-year-old record for heavy rain.
If the climate continues to warm, more rain is likely, MetService meteorologist Ashlee Parkes told Stuff in May.
”The science tells us that as the atmosphere warms it has the ability to hold more moisture and that will fall as rain,” she said.
“If we see more warming, there is the likelihood we will see more rain. Whether or not that’s the new normal I couldn’t say.”
Auckland is not the only part of the country to experience these extreme rain fall.
“Napier Airport has seen 930mm so far in 2023, considerably more than the 789mm they’d see in a typical year,” James said.
The sodden soils across the North Island mean the heavy rain blasting the country over the next few days could be problematic for areas like Tairāwhiti/Gisborne.
The severe weather has caused road closures, landslips, rivers rising to dangerous levels and surface flooding, as well as evacuations.
“MetService is monitoring the situation overnight and through the weekend, keeping the regional council and public informed of any updates,” James said.
MetService encourages North Islanders to keep up to date with all the latest information on MetService website.