Like it or not, yesterday was Dunedin’s wettest day since July 26 last year.
Niwa meteorologist Ben Noll said the city had had so little rain over the past seven months that it found itself officially in meteorological drought earlier this week.
He said 23.8mm of rain fell in Dunedin between 5pm on Tuesday and 9am yesterday, and about 2mm-3mm were added throughout the rest of yesterday.
"July 26 was the last time Dunedin had this amount of rain in a single day.
"I would expect this amount of rain would quell the meteorological drought, but because the dryness has been going on for quite some time, there will be residual dryness.
"It also depends on how much rain was taken up by the ground. Some of it would have just run off because the ground is so hard at the moment."
Mr Noll said the southern regions were not out of drought danger yet because there were still "flavours" of the La Nina weather pattern affecting the country, bringing frequent warm and dry northeasterly winds.
That could cause the dry conditions to continue and drought conditions may return, he said.
"Obviously, the rain has been gold for the farmers, but we’ll probably still need a bit more to properly ease things."
Federated Farmers Otago president Mark Patterson said farmers from around the region had reported rainfall of anywhere between 20mm and 35mm.
"It’s a relief rain, but it’s not a drought breaker. We’re still in a serious moisture deficit.
"But we’re very grateful for it. It was so desperately needed.
"It’s a morale booster, that’s for sure, and it will help freshen things up."
MetService has forecasted showers to continue today, but they are expected to clear by tomorrow.
