Although the skies may not be predominantly blue this weekend, it’ll be somewhat drier overall than what parts of the country saw over the last few days.

Pockets of cloud and showers may pop up here and there but also long, dry periods are also likely for many of us today and tomorrow.

Looking at some of the statistics this week and more than 600mm of rain tumbled down over Takaka over the week which is considerably more than what Central Otago and South Canterbury average each year and a similar total for what Christchurch can also see over a 12 month period.

Other parts of the Nelson region ended up with record or near record totals which is too much water for the ground to soak up adequately and it’s no surprise that landslips were numerous in number but fortunately no fatalities occurred.

“Yesterday a couple of callers to the show thought that parts of Nelson resembled Christchurch after the earthquake in February ” says weather analyst and NewstalkZB host Richard Green.”One listener suggested it was a bit like a warzone in parts of the Nelson district after the water had sudsided “.

WeatherWatch.co.nz published stories about the approaching heavy rain however the intensity of torrential rain in isolated areas caught forecasters and weather enthusiasts by surprise.

It’s not often that populated areas of the country are drenched by such big rains but when the conditions are ripe they can occur over any part of New Zealand.