Rain, rain, come again another day — please. Both farmers and gardeners are hoping the recent rain across Otago and Southland is not a one-off.
MetService meteorologist Tom Bell said parts of Central and coastal Otago as well as Southland received decent rainfall on Thursday night and Friday morning.
Many areas received rain but the amounts varied, Mr Bell said.
Moa Flat recorded the most with 40mm while Dunedin city had about 20mm, as did Ranfurly, he said. Areas further west, such as Alexandra and the Queenstown Lakes district received only a few millimetres of rain.
Isolated showers were forecast for tomorrow and more was expected on Monday.
"Looks like patchy drizzle on Sunday but on Monday it’s looking like some more widespread rain."
Federated Farmers Otago vice-president Simon Davies said the rain would keep farmers going for another week but more rain would be needed.
"We’re looking at more rain on Monday which would be very, very useful."
Long-term, without at least another 100mm of rain, farmers were looking a very dry summer, Mr Davies said.
Hot days were also an issue, he said.
"In terms of stock water, we want cold days more than rain, in some ways. Once that air temperature goes up, the stock just start sucking on the water again."
More rain would also be welcome at the Dunedin Botanic Garden.
Team leader and curator Alan Matchett said with the city facing possible water restrictions, the rain was very welcome.
Many areas around the garden had started to dry off and some plants had shown signs of distress, Mr Matchett said.
With no way to store water, the garden had to be prepared for dry spells.
"We have to get the crystal ball out ... and deal with it as it comes."
This week, the Dunedin City Council warned it would have to introduce water restrictions by the weekend, unless residents were able to voluntarily reduce consumption.
But the recent rain and a dramatic drop in water consumption meant any decision on restrictions could be delayed until Monday.
