328
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.

ABSTRACT of METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, New Zealand, for the Month of MAY, 1869.

STATIONS.
BAROMETER.
Corrected and
Reduced to Sea
Level.
TEMPERATURE FROM SELF-REGISTERING
INSTRUMENTS, READ IN MORNING
FOR TWENTY-FOUR HOURS PREVIOUSLY.
COMPUTED
FROM
OBSERVATIONS.
RAIN.
WIND.
CLOUD.
Mean
Extr'me
Mean
Temp.
Mean
Daily
Range
Extr'me
Range
Max.
Temp.
in Sun's
Rays.
Min.
Temp.
on
Grass.
Mean
Elastic
Force
of
Vapour.
Deg. of
Moist.
(Satu-
ration
=100.)
Total
Fall
in
Month
(inches)
No. of
Days
on
which
Rain
fell.
Average
Daily
Force
in Miles
for
Month
Maximum
Velocity
in Miles
in any
24 hours,
and date.
Mean
Amount
(0to10).
Reading Range.
Shade.
of
Temp.
MONGONUI
... 29.914 .974 59.0 12.3 24.0 ... .407 82- 7.970 22 169.0 369,26th 5.6
Same month previous 3 years 29.985 55.9 ... .329 81. 4.630 17 366.0 889,23rd 4.8

AUCKLAND'
... 29.900 .797 56.0 12.2 26.9 113.2 26.8 .370 86- 5.044 20 366.0 889,23rd 4.8
Same month previous 4 years 29.881 57.3 ... .375 77. 3.905 18

TARANAKI
... 29.860 .848 53.0 12.2 26.0 113.0 ... .323 80- 4.500 15 256.0 531, 16th 5.8
Same month previous 5 years 29.978 54.6 ... .361 79. 6.282 15

NAPIER
... 29.802 .909 55.1 14.5 32.8 114.4 ... .294 66. 2.390 10 235.0 452, 4th 4.4
Same month previous 2 years 50.0 ... 1.100 3

WELLINGTON
... 29.851 .964 51.4 12.3 26.3 105.0 31.0 .287 76. 2.633 16 179.0 395, 7th 5.1
Same month previous 5 years 29.915 53.1 ... .274 70. 4.080 12

NELSON
... 29.757 .934 49.7 18.1 30.0 110.0 ... .282 79. 9.570 8 117.0 230, 4th 3.9
Same month previous 5 years 29.958 51.1 ... .333 77. 4.578 6

CHRISTCHURCH
... 29.789 1.223 46.5 16.4 34.4 116.7 11.4 .259 83. 2.033 6 98.0 203, 4th 4.7
Same month previous 5 years 29.913 48.2 ... .283 81. 2.328 8

HOKITIKA
... 29.844 1.032 48.4 14.6 33.0 73.2 ... .298 88. 7.810 17 ...t 6.3
Same month previous 3 years 30.085 49.4 ... .339 91. 5.860 12

BEALEY †
... 29.718 1.052 112.8 12.0 ... .298 88. 7.515 15 65.0 205, 6th 4.7
Same month previous year 30.030 ... 10.697 17

DUNEDIN
... 29.833 1.363 44.9 11.2 27.0 110.0 20.0 .229 76. 6.338 22 173.0 400, 8th 6.0
Same month previous 5 years 29.954 48.1 ... .249 74. 4.210 17

SOUTHLAND
... 29.715 1.342 42.6 11.6 32.0 108.0 18.0 .251 92. 7.130 20 147.0 685, 4th 7.3
Same month previous 4 years 29.921 47.0 ... .254 79. 4.200 16

• For the year 1864 only.
  † The instrument for determining the force of wind out of order.
  2,104 feet above sea-level.

NOTES.

Mongonui.—Very heavy rainfall on 10th and 11th; 3.02 inches recorded on morning of 11th—wind S.E. The total rainfall for
this month was far above the average; the wind on the whole was moderate.

Auckland.—Stormy on the 3rd and 4th from S.W., and showery; very strong westerly winds from 23rd to 25th, with heavy rain;
thunder on 16th and 29th; very wet weather during the greater part of the month, and strong winds; lunar halo about
6 p.m. on 22nd.

Taranaki.—Stormy weather from 5th to 7th from S.W., with rain; gale from S.E. on night of 12th; strong wind on the
15th from N., with rain; wind change to W. and S.W. on 16th and 17th, and still stormy; squally weather on 24th
and 25th from N.W., with heavy rain; thunder on 16th, 17th, and 26th.

Napier.—Strong westerly winds on 4th, 5th, and 6th, without rain—barometer low; barometer rose on 7th, and the weather was
finer; strong gale on night of 23rd from N.E.; the rainfall was rather above the average.

Wellington.—Fine pleasant N.W. weather up to the 10th; on the 11th and 12th it was dull, raw, showery weather—wind S.E.;
fine and bright on 13th and 14th—wind from N.W.; stormy on the 15th from N.W., with rain and very loud thunder and
vivid lightning; fine again on 16th, but unpleasant damp weather on 17th and 18th; fine from 19th to 21st, but for
the remainder of the month it was wet and stormy, especially on the 24th, when there was a gale in the night from N.W.;
foggy on 23rd; fifteen days N.W. wind.

Nelson.—Weather tolerably fine up to 14th, when there was heavy rain; wind, S.E.; 5.20 inches registered on morning of 15th
for previous twenty-four hours; also heavy rain on 16th; a dense fog on 22nd, and heavy rain up to morning of 23rd—wind
N.W.; thunder on 25th; smart shock of earthquake at 8.27 p.m. on 24th.

Christchurch.—Strong wind on night of 3rd from S.W.; also, on 7th, heavy squall from same quarter, with hail and light rain;
fog on 11th and 29th. On the whole, there was fine weather at this station, with moderate winds.

Hokitika.—Severe gale from S.W. on the 6th, with rain, thunder, and lightning, and on the 15th strong wind from N. and N.W.,
with rain. The rainfall for the month is greater than for the same period in previous years, and the temperature is somewhat
lower.

Bealey.—Snow on 7th; gale from N.W. on 14th, with heavy rain and hail. There was some fine bright clear and frosty weather
in the middle of the month, but otherwise it was wet, foggy, and disagreeable. There were nine days of fog; prevailing
wind—N.W.

Dunedin.—At the commencement of the month pleasant, also in the middle of the month it was fine; but otherwise the
weather was wet and disagreeable; on the 23rd and 24th the rain was very heavy—wind W.; there were fourteen days
of W. wind.

Southland.—The Observer remarks:—Light winds, excessive humidity, constantly overcast sky, but, unlike April, copious rain,—
heaviest from 4th to 7th, and 24th and 25th; on 3rd, barometer 29.10, and a severe storm of six days' duration followed
from W., with rain, hail, thunder, and lightning; on 7th, wind veered to S.E., with a very heavy snow-storm,—the flakes
were of extraordinary size; slight Aurora visible on 11th and 12th, and a fine lunar halo on 22nd; on night of 23rd
the barometer fell to 28.96, and sixty hours of incessant rain followed.

GENERAL REMARKS.

Strong W. and S.W. winds prevailed at almost all the stations from 3rd to about the 7th of the month, accompanied in
many cases with rain, thunder, and hail; it was especially severe at Southland, where there was also a very heavy snow-storm.
The rainfall at many of the stations was unusually heavy.

JAMES HECTOR,
Inspector.

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