New Zealand to get more rain, less snow this winter - NIWA

If the summer months felt like they dragged on this year, that's because New Zealand has just recorded its second-highest March temperature.

And forecasters believe it could mean more rain and less snow this winter.

A temperature map shows a sea of red - unusual autumn heat covering most of New Zealand.

"Those deep reds indicates more than 2degC above the March average," NIWA meteorologist Ben Noll says. "March was like a summer month, rather than the first month of autumn."

New Zealand to get more rain, less snow this winter - NIWA
Photo credit: NIWA

Since 1930, the number of months in the year that are warmer than average has just gone up and up - to the point that since last year, not one month has been below average.

New Zealand to get more rain, less snow this winter - NIWA
Photo credit: NIWA

It's all fuelled by warmer sea temperatures. They're expected to drive up heavy rain events this winter, especially on the West Coast of New Zealand.

That means more dramatic scenes like the collapse of the Waiho Bridge could become all too familiar. At the same time, snow could become a rare sight in the absence of colder days.

And while daylight saving is ending this week, no one can really say if the warmer weather will end too.

Newshub.