A one-in-a-hundred-year drought hit regions like Northland and Hawke's Bay dramatically last summer and some are preparing for a second round. “The northern and eastern parts of the North Island, Northland down to Hawke's Bay and Gisborne, will be more exposed to wet weather conditions. Hawke's Bay might be in for the same. Today, Fire and Emergency New Zealand put the region in a restricted fire season – that's a month earlier than last year when the huge drought hit. Its principal rural fire officer for Hawke's Bay, Trevor Mitchell, said that was because an unseasonably windy, warm and dry spring had dried out most of Hawke's Bay.

Source: Stuff October 12, 2020 08:48 UTC