the state of our environment | September 2014
September wasn’t exactly teeming with the joys of spring. It was a case of winter hanging on by its fingernails,
bringing us colder daytime temperatures than usual (for the third month in a row...heavy sigh) and also a fair bit more
rain. It makes you wonder if the seasons haven’t shifted a bit given that April, May and June were all warmer than the
norm. We had winds with a southerly component for half of September so that helps explain the chill factor. They also
had the occasional easterly tilt which brought rain to eastern parts and the southern coastal hills in particular. That
meant central Hawke’s Bay was more sheltered than most of the region and received usual September rainfall amounts
rather than the generous servings delivered elsewhere. River levels around the region are mostly higher than usual, as
are soil moisture levels but our groundwater stocks are about normal for the time of year. Thankfully air quality from
now on is typically all good so we’ll no longer have that in the report and look forward (big time) to the start of
recreational water quality reporting in a few months’ time.