You don’t need a thermometer to tell you the warmest months are behind us – as our calendars turn to June, everything points to winter being well underway in Tasman.
But while the damp ground might suggest that there’s some moisture in our soils, we’re still waiting for some decent rain to descend on us.
Since the start of 2024, rainfall across the District has been lower than 2023 and has remained below the average totals for each month so far. Many of our rivers are also at low flows for this time of the year, most would be under restrictions at these flow levels in summer.
May rainfall has been especially low with the totals recorded at our monitoring sites much less than the monthly average and significantly lower than the same – albeit unusually wet – time last year.
As we go to print, the long-range forecast is still indicating minor rainfall throughout June. We hope that as you read this, there has been a welcome shift in the weather and the sound of raindrops on the roof is providing some welcome relief.
Irrigation requirements have lessened for rural users across the region since the end of April, and we have noticed some areas where groundwater levels that reached concerning levels have begun to show some improvement.
The Waimea Community Dam is currently filled to around 95% capacity, which enables us to maintain river flow and aquifer levels across the Waimea Plains throughout the year.
However, any prolonged period without significant rain is something to be mindful of and we will continue to monitor all catchments throughout the winter months.