Weather Eye with John Maunder

Rainfalls for the month of September have been recorded in Tauranga since 1898, except for 1904, 1907, 1908, and 1909.

The graph shows the range of rainfalls from an extreme high of 274 mm in 1973 to a low of only 16 mm in 1965. The second wettest September was 1900 when 256 mm was recorded, and the second driest September was in 1944 when only 27 mm fell. The long-term average rainfall for Tauranga for September from 1898-2013 is 105 mm.

The graph of the September rainfall shows normal variations from year to year. There is a very small decrease in the average of the September rainfalls during the last 50 years (1961-2010) from an average of 103 mm, compared with an average of 105 mm during the 50 years from 1911-1960. Since 1898, there have been five September months with a rainfall of 200 mm or more (four of which occurred during the period 1900 to 1928, but only one September 200 mm month since then), compared with six September months with a rainfalls of 40 mm or less. The rainfall for September 2013 was 95 mm.