Last week we were getting correspondence through from our readers confirming that rain was indeed falling in many parts of the dry North Island – but it simply wasn’t in large enough quantities, or long enough periods.

So, we decided to get a national read on the situation – and open it up in our poll, which asked the question: “Did you get the rain you were hoping for?”

The answer to that was a resounding ‘no’ from the vast majority of respondents – with nearly 90% of voters telling us they either didn’t receive any rain, or the stuff that did fall didn’t solve their problems.

One reader, J Strawbs, related their experience this year:

“Still nothing at Himatangi Beach in the Manawatu. I’ve just moved back from 20+ years in Western Australia, and it’s almost as dry as Perth!“

While that may be a slightly more isolated case, there’s no doubting this year has been a huge challenge for individuals and communities throughout much of the North Island – and for a glimmer of hope, check out Philip Duncan’s latest weather video, in which the words “wet Easter” will come as music to many ears.