The Bay of Plenty saw below normal rainfall last month, with 50 to 79 per cent of the predicted rainfall falling in the region.

According to the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, March was a relatively cloudy month for most of the country, with many areas recording below normal sunshine.

The Bay of Plenty saw more sun than rain last month.

Of the six main centres, Auckland was the warmest and wettest, Dunedin was the coolest, Christchurch was the driest, and Tauranga was the sunniest.

Of the available, regularly reporting sunshine observation sites, the sunniest four centres so far in 2015 are: New Plymouth (870 hours), Paraparaumu (815 hours), Whakatane (811 hours), and Blenheim (805 hours).

'March 2015 was characterised by lower air pressures than normal over New Zealand, the Tasman Sea and south of Australia,” says NIWA.

'Higher than normal pressures were located south-east of New Zealand. This pressure pattern caused a north-easterly flow anomaly over the country.”

The nationwide average temperature in March was 16.7°C - 1.0°C above the 1981-2010 March average from NIWA's seven station temperature series which begins in 1909.

Most of the country received near normal rainfall (within 20 per cent of normal) in March.

'There were patches of low rainfall totals in Northland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, northern Canterbury, Otago, and Southland, which received below normal rainfall (50-79 per cent),” adds NIWA.

'Although parts of the country received significant rainfall, soils were still much drier than normal for the time of year in many areas.

'Specifically, as of April 1, soil moisture levels were well below normal for the time of year for most of the North Island, particularly for western Northland, Waikato, Eastern Bay of Plenty, southern Hawkes Bay and the Wairarapa, as well as in the South Island including coastal northern Canterbury and parts of Southland.”

Soil moisture levels were near normal for the time of year on the west coast of the South Island and eastern Otago, as well as pockets in Auckland, coastal Taranaki, north-eastern Hawke's Bay, Marlborough, and Canterbury.