Farms are drying out and water tanks are emptying as El Nino conditions continue to fuel westerlies across New Zealand.

The WeatherWatch.co.nz ten day outlook doesn’t see much relief for those in the east of both islands either and with readers telling us they literally have “a couple of weeks left” before their water tanks run out it’s not good news.

From Auckland northwards there’s a particularly high concentration of homes and bach’s that rely on rain water.

Over the next 10 days Auckland is likely to see winds almost completely from the westerly quarter with a 60% chance of rain or showers on Sunday.  Next week sees that percentage fall to 30% and 20%. 

Head weather analyst Philip Duncan says even with some rain likely on Sunday the wind flow doesn’t favour heavy falls for the east.  “We really need to see a low or two come down from the sub-tropics and not from the southern Tasman Sea.  By the time the fronts have crossed land most of the moisture has gone so those in the east see very little substantial rain”.

Is it getting dry where you are?  Are you worried about the summer ahead?  Post your comments below.