424

Weather Summary

22nd to the close of the month the weather was magnificent, almost cloudless, sometimes very warm, but in general cool and pleasant, with a steady light easterly breeze prevailing, except on the 28th, when it blew hard from N.W. for eight hours. The mean direction of the wind for the month was E. by S. The month was thus free from any great atmospheric disturbances, and remarkable only for its extreme dryness; the total rainfall being less than three quarters of an inch in depth, while spontaneous evaporation amounted to 6.672 inches. The mean temperature in shade was 3° above the average; the mean daily range 2°·5 below. The range of temperature during the month was 38°·1, but on one day, the 3rd, the range was 36°·6, or from 78°·4 to 41°·8. No thunder was heard, and sheet lightning was visible on one occasion only, namely, the night of the 3rd, towards the south. On the same night there was a slight hoar frost, when the exposed thermometer on grass fell to 29°·3. The relative frequency of the winds was as follows: northerly 14, southerly 16·5, easterly 37·5, westerly 19.

Hokitika

The figures in the above Table offer again a most remarkable contrast between the weather on the east coast and at Hokitika. While the plains were still suffering from drought, the west coast was visited by a succession of heavy rainfalls and frequent gales. The total amount of rain collected at the western station was 20·13 inches on 20 days, or nearly thirty times the quantity that fell in Christchurch. It was much the wettest and most boisterous month in the present year, some idea of which will be conveyed by the following short notes.

After a showery day on the 1st, heavy rain and hail fell on the 2nd, with a northerly gale, changing to S.W. on the 3rd, from which point it blew with violence until the night of the 4th. On the latter day, which was showery, a slight shock of earthquake was felt in the town at 4.30 p.m. From the 5th day to the 8th the weather was very fine; the 9th was showery, the next day wet throughout, increasing to a regular downpour on the 11th, on which day occurred the highest flood yet known in the river Hokitika. Two fine days succeeded, but from the 14th to the 22nd very rough weather again prevailed; the average rainfall during this period of eight days exceeded one inch a day, and the westerly winds blowing with great violence from the 19th to the 22nd. From the latter date to the close of the month the weather was tolerably fine, interrupted only by occasional showers. The mean direction of the wind during the month was N.W. by N.

The daily and monthly range of the barometer was nearly alike on both coasts, but the mean temperature of the atmosphere was 3°·4, and the mean heat in the sun’s rays 26°, below what was registered at Christchurch. Relative humidity shows also a striking difference, for if complete saturation of the atmosphere is represented by 100, the mean degree of moisture at Hokitika was 90, while at Christchurch it only rose to 70; and if a completely overcast sky is represented by 10, 7·7 would be the mean amount of sky covered at the West Coast, while on the plains it was 4·4.

R. L. HOLMES,
Meteorological Observer,
Christchurch.