New Zealand is "in the shadow of Australian droughts" as another giant anti-cyclone comes our way, WeatherWatch warns.
An abnormally large belt of high pressure is moving across the Tasman, which will bring drier-than-average weather for the rest of June. Some places will likely not receive any rain between now and early July.
- Farmers worried as South Island drought area extended
- Drought conditions force early apple harvest in Nelson
- South Island farmers forced to sell stock, let crops die in drought
WeatherWatch head forecaster Philip Duncan says it's the second very large high in the past two months coming out of Australia to affect our weather.
"The nation of Australia has been hit hard again this year by these overly powerful, stubborn, highs - one after the other, after the other. With New Zealand so close to their east and our weather pattern often coming from them, it's perhaps not so surprising that we've caught some of their dry weather bug," he says.
"This year has been generally warmer and drier in New Zealand due to an uptick in large highs which have been drifting out of Australia. NZ is such a small country and we're partially in the Roaring Forties belt of changeable weather so it means that a series of big highs or lows can seriously throw our averages out."
Duncan says rainfall totals in many regions are well below normal for the halfway point of the year, with some only about a third of where they should be.
"Lack of rain in winter is great news for most townies, but for farmers and growers it makes things more worrying heading into spring and summer when rainfall traditionally dries up a bit," he says.
"To start off dry is not ideal for summer 2019/2020 for dairy and vegetable prices".
However there may be better news ahead for those hoping for rain.
"At the end of this enormous high there may be a period of unusually warm sub-tropical airflows," WeatherWatch says.
"While not the best news for making snow on ski fields it is a better set up for bringing rain in to dry farms and market gardens with lows more likely in the Tasman Sea."
Newshub.
