Overall, January brought a wet start to the new year for the region. By January’s end, regional rainfall totals neared 300% of the long term average, with Waikaremoana, Northern Hawke’s Bay, Tangoio, and the Heretaunga Plains all recording rainfall in excess of 300% of normal. This marked a shift from the dry conditions that persisted in the region in the last few months of 2025. River flows largely mirrored the rainfall pattern, sitting well above normal at most sites, with some northern catchments recording particularly high flows. Soil moisture levels responded strongly to the above average rainfall, with many monitoring sites reaching field capacity. Some sites such as Omakere also experienced prolonged saturation. Groundwater levels also improved, with the average regional condition sitting at “Normal” for January. Heretaunga Plains showed particularly encouraging signs of improvement, with more than half of monitoring sites recording “normal levels” and nearly a quarter showing “above normal” conditions. January also saw a few spikes in temperature, notably on 11 January when some high temperatures were recorded, with Napier Aero AWS reaching 36.3°C. Overall however, the maximum temperatures remained near or below normal while minimum temperatures were above normal across the region. Air quality remained excellent throughout January, with no PM₁₀ exceedances recorded in any of the airsheds.
