The fine weather - parked over the lower North Island and entire South Island for the rest of November - threatens to leave vast tracts of parched land as soil moisture evaporates into the atmosphere. He said the dryness would be most intense across inland areas of the South Island, as well as parts of the North Island including Dargaville and the Eastern Waikato. Except for east coast of the North Island, less than 20mm of rain was expected to fall during the rest of the month. River flows and soil moisture levels were also expected to suffer in the west and east of the South Island. It would be marked by days of calm weather, and most likely sunnier and dry conditions.

Source: Otago Daily Times November 21, 2017 02:03 UTC