Think it’s been wet in some parts of New Zealand? It has been, especially in the North Island – but it pales in comparison to the downpours happening around the tropics (which is normal!).

This global rain map – created by the US Government – shows where the rain has been falling over the past two weeks. You can see the line of rain left over from the South Australia storm and its path over the North Island.

You’ll notice all the rain to the north and north west of Australia – that is being caused by the Indian Ocean Dipole (the Indian Ocean’s version of El Nino) which pushes warmer than average sea surface temperatures to this part of the planet and that creates more rain over Australia – and some of that is affecting New Zealand.

If La Nina kicks in this year (still a lot of uncertainty) then expect to see more rain to the north east of Australia and north of New Zealand. This is somewhat happening around the Philippines and Papua New Guinea.

– Images / US Government

– WeatherWatch.co.nz