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Summer 2022-2023 made history as one of the most remarkable ever recorded in New Zealand, unfortunately for all the wrong reasons. Ex TC Hale in January (left panel) and ex-TC Gabrielle in February (right panel) both affected the northern and eastern North Island with unprecedented amounts of rain and destruction, and sadly with human lives lost. The rain from these systems added to various additional atmospheric river events already affecting the northern part of the country, with Auckland also being significantly hit by a previous storm. While ex-tropical cyclones affecting New Zealand are not caused by climate change, incoming storms are encountering higher background levels of heat and humidity from global warming, making these more conducive for heavy rainfall bursts. Both trajectory panels show the forecasts when these storms were still classed as Tropical Cyclones, courtesy of MetService (TC Hale starting 9 January, TC Gabrielle starting 10 February).