River flows update, May 2010

River flows maps and information for the past month and the past three months.

April 2010 river flows

April river flows were below normal, and at record lows, in much of the North Island. In Fiordland, by contrast, there were record high flows in some rivers.

 

 

 

 

River flows, February to April 2010

Flows over the last three months (February to April 2010) were below normal or lower in many parts of both the North and South Islands.

 

 

 

 

Outlook by region, May to July 2010

Northern North Island Below normal streamflows are likely
Southwest North Island Normal or below normal streamflows are likely
Southeast North Island Below normal streamflows are likely
Northern South Island Normal or below normal streamflows are likely
West and south South Island Normal or above normal streamflows are likely
Eastern South Island Below normal streamflows are very likely

Maps and more details of our three-monthly outlook for river flows, soil moisture, rainfall, and temperature are available from NIWA's Seasonal Climate Outlook.

Our last three-monthly predictions and what actually happened

What we predicted for February 2010 to April 2010

River flows and soil moistures are likely to be near normal or below normal in the North Island, near normal in the north and east of the South Island, and normal or above normal in the western South Island.

What actually happened

Soil moistures were well below normal over all the North Island and in the north and east of the South Island. Streamflows were below normal everywhere except for the North Island east coast and southwest of the South Island where above normal conditions occurred.

See New Zealand Climate Update for more information.