512
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.

ABSTRACT of METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, New Zealand, for the Month of AUGUST, 1868.
STATIONS.
BAROMETER.
TEMPERATURE FROM SELF-REGISTERING
INSTRUMENTS, READ IN MORNING
FOR TWENTY-FOUR HOURS PREVIOUSLY.
COMPUTED
FROM
OBSERVATIONS.
RAIN.
WIND.
CLOUD.

Mean Extr'me Mean Daily Mean Range Extr'me Max. Min. Mean Mean Elastic Deg. of Total No. of Average Maximum Mean
Reading Range. Temp. in of Temp. Temp. in Sun's on Moist. Force Moist. Fall Days Daily Velocity Amount
Shade. Temp. Rays. Grass. Vapour. (Satu- Month in which in Miles for Month
ration in
100.) (inches) fell. Month.
Force in Miles in any
24 hours,
and date. (0to10)-

TARANAKI ... 29.874 962 49.8 12.3 25.0 99.0 32.0 0.311 87.0 4.58 16 391.8 855, 13th 5.4
Same month previous 4 years 29.830 49.8 322 78.0 5.070 17

NAPIER ... 29.870 1.054 49.7 14.3 28.4 109.6 253 71.3 1.162 12 222.2 502, 2nd 3.7
Same month previous 2 years 29.922 50.6 304 81.0 9.340 10

WELLINGTON 29.887 931 47.0 12.0 33.5 107.0 12.6 244 75.0 3.830 14 174.8 375,24th 6.4
Same month previous 4 years 29.806 48.6 227 64.5 4.022 14

NELSON 29.864 1.006 45.1 20.4 36.0 85.0 26.0 244 81.6 5.050 7 121.6 337,31st 2.6
Same month previous 4 years 29.913 47.3 273 70.0 3.537 7

CHRISTCHURCH 29.888 1.007 41.6 14.9 39.5 108.4 10.5 219 84.0 3.215 13 93.0 262,25th 5.7
Same month previous 4 years 29.827 45.8 245 78.2 2.382 11

HOKITIKA 29.893 0.893 43.4 16.0 28.9 72.5 21.9 266 94.4 4.10 14 126.5 287,30th 4.7
Same month previous 2 years 29.885 45.8 311 90.0 10.580 18

DUNEDIN 29.940 1.019 41.8 11.2 31.0 89.0 201 77.2 1.224 14 181.0 580, 3rd 6.0
Same month previous 4 years 29.902 44.0 215 72.0 2.669 16

SOUTHLAND 29.892 950 40.9 21.1 44.0 114.0 12.0 201 77.7 4.230 13 173.0 480, 4th 4.2
Same month previous 3 years 29.710 41.3 202 69.0 5.586 15

NOTES.

Taranaki. Very squally weather from the 2nd to the 10th; wind S.W., very little rain; on 12th and 13th gale from S.E.,
lasting 35 hours; hail fell on 26th; slight earthquake on 11th, at 5:30 a.m.; earthquake on the 17th, at 103 a.m., lasting one
minute without intermission. Return received 8th October, 1868.

Napier. Gale from S.S.W. on the 2nd; hail fell on the 23rd; tidal waves during the 15th, range from three to six feet; two
slight shocks of earthquake at 10 a.m. on the 17th; prevailing wind for the month from S.W.; very slight rainfall. Return
received 17th September, 1868.

Wellington. High wind on the 24th from S.W., dull and showery; remarkable tidal disturbance on the 15th; earthquake
shock on the 17th, at 9:55 a.m.; snow fell on the 25th; severe weather during this month. Return received 1st October,
1868.

Nelson.--Very heavy falls of rain at this place the total being above the average for previous years. Return received 19th
September, 1868.

Christchurch. Strong winds from S.W. on the 24th and 25th, with snow and hail-snow 14 inch thick on ground-very severe
weather; snow also on 2nd inch thick; fog on 15th, also earthquake wave in Lyttelton harbour; on 17th earthquake
shock about 9:58 a.m. The weather was unusually severe during this month, there being much frost, rain, and wind; the
rainfall was higher than the average for previous years; fourteen days of S.W. wind. Return received 8th September, 1868.

Hokitika. Slight shock of earthquake felt at 9:56 a.m. on the 17th; fog on 7th, 20th, and 21st. Very fine weather in this
locality during the month. Return received 10th October, 1868.

Dunedin. Strong winds on 2nd, 3rd, and 7th, from S.W.; snow on the 2nd and 23rd. The weather was fine at this station
considering the season of the year. Return received 2nd October, 1868.

Southland. The weather, the observer remarks, was squally and wet constantly up to the 11th, then very fine, clear, and frosty
until the close of the month, except for two days, 22nd and 24th, when it snowed; thero were no gales, thunderstorms, or
fogs; hail on three days-2nd, 3rd, and 23rd. Return received 12th September, 1868.

GENERAL REMARKS.

The temperature is lower at almost all the stations than the average for the same month in previous years, and the degree of
moisture is higher; the weather was more severe in the Northern part of the Colony than is usual. On the 15th the East Coast
was visited by a series of oceanic waves that were coincident with great earthquakes on the coast of South America. On the
17th an earthquake was felt throughout the Colony, except in Auckland, passing from East to West.

27th October, 1868.

JAMES HECTOR,
Inspector of Meteorological Stations.

Printed under the authority of the New Zealand Government, by GEORGE DIDSBURY, Government Printer, Wellington.