Today
Has it rained enough in Hamilton?
Rain soaked properly in 2 days ago, and the ground is still holding some of it.
Hamilton has had 40.2mm of rain in the last 30 days. A normal October here brings 106mm — and the driest October in the last 30 years still managed 50.4mm. This is drier than anything on that record.
Rain reaching the roots · 14 days
18 OctToday
Reached the roots
Rain that did not
6 days of 14
Thirty years
Rain in Hamilton through a normal year
Across a normal year Hamilton gets about 1212.7mm of rain, most of it in July (126.3mm) and least in March (76.1mm).
A normal October in Hamilton has rain on 18 days. Only 12 of them bring enough to reach a root.
That makes Hamilton one of the wetter places this site covers in New Zealand in October — 2nd of 8, against Nelson at the wet end (138.7mm) and Christchurch at the dry end (58.8mm).
JFMarAMJJulASOND
Average rainfall by month, 1995–2024
What it means
What that means for what you grow
- Pots and hanging basketsWorst hit, and first to suffer. Very little soil, fully exposed, and nothing to fall back on — in this weather they can empty in a day.
- Salad and leafy vegShallow-rooted and quick to bolt once they run dry. First priority of anything in the ground.
- Beds and bordersA long soak that reaches the roots is worth more than a daily sprinkle, which only wets the surface and is gone by lunchtime.
- Established shrubs and treesFine as they are. They draw from far deeper than a dry spell reaches.