2002
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 76

New Zealand Rainfall for July, 1905—continued.

SOUTH ISLAND—continued.

(H.) SOUTH ASPECT—CAPE SAUNDERS TO PUYSEGUR POINT.

Eweburn Nursery, Ranfurly .. | A. W. Roberts .. | .. | 0·69 | 7 | 0·30 on 12th
Kokonga .. | R. W. Glendinning | .. | 0·57 | 7 | 0·32 on 12th
Caversham .. | G. M. Burlinson | .. | 1·32 | 8 | 0·37 on 13th
Gladbrook St’n, Middlemarch | A. Mackenzie .. | .. | 0·65 | 6 | 0·30 on 13th
Tarras (a) .. | R. K. Smith .. | .. | 0·61 | 6 | 0·19 on 24th
Queenstown .. | A. H. Hiddlestone | .. | 1·21 | 5 | 0·63 on 23rd
Galloway, Alexandra South .. | A. Gunn.. | .. | 0·505 | 9 | 0·265 on 12th
Clyde .. | J. S. Dickie .. | .. | 0·54 | 4 | 0·32 on 13th
Roxburgh .. | Dr. J. R. Gilmour | .. | 0·625 | 6 | 0·265 on 13th
Balclutha .. | J. W. Brame .. | .. | 1·23 | 7 | 0·53 on 17th
Tapanui Nursery .. | R. G. Robinson .. | .. | 1·09 | 3 | 0·51 on 18th
Waikawa Valley .. | J. H. Buckingham | .. | 2·06 | 6 | 1·09 on 17th
Toi Toi Estate, Waimahaka .. | W. R. Baird .. | .. | 1·355 | 10 | 0·485 on 16th
Centre Hill Station, Mossburn.. | R. Gray .. | .. | 1·31 | 10 | 0·31 on 7th
Dipton .. | R. D. MacLachlan | .. | 0·83 | 5 | 0·30 on 17th
Birchwood, Nightcaps .. | Mrs. R. McKenzie | .. | 1·87 | 13 | 0·57 on 17th
Nightcaps .. | James Ritchie .. | .. | 1·33 | 10 | 0·62 on 17th
Otatatau .. | N. A. McLaren .. | .. | 2·15 | 8 | 1·15 on 17th
Riverton .. | J. M. Geary .. | .. | 1·89 | 17 | 0·64 on 16th
Te Tua .. | H. A. Archdall .. | .. | 1·81 | 11 | 0·53 on 17th

(I.) ISLANDS.

Chatham Islands .. | A. Shand (b) .. | .. | 3·54 | 19 | 0·90 on 30th
Stewart Island .. | W. Traill .. | .. | 2·51 | 18 | 0·44 on 16th

Late return—
(a) June .. .. .. .. .. | .. | 3·11 | 5 | 1·77 on 23rd
(b) " .. .. .. .. .. | .. | 2·59 | 19 | 0·88 on 2nd

A. HAMILTON, Director.

METEOROLOGICAL REPORT FOR JULY, 1905.

JULY is regarded as the midwinter month in New Zealand, because the temperature is then lowest and the rainfall generally the heaviest. This year, however, the rainfall was mostly heavier in June, and though the temperature shows a decline, yet the weather of July was on the whole fairly mild, and marked by an absence of high winds. The most remarkable features in the rainfall returns are the continuances of a wet period on the east coast of the North Island and of the dry spell in the south of the South Island, Invercargill and Dipton recording minimum falls for July for fourteen years returns. West of the dividing-ranges of the North Island (that is, over Taranaki and Wellington) the rainfall is only about half the July average, but on the east side of the ranges, in the Hawke’s Bay and Poverty Bay districts, the rainfall is quite double the usual. Elsewhere over the centre of the North Island the rainfall was about the average for previous years, but in excess over the Thames and Bay of Plenty. North of Auckland the records are more uneven. The record at Pakaraka is lower than that in any previous July in fourteen years, but elsewhere the fall was considerable. In the South Island, in Canterbury and the West Coast, the rainfall was above the July average.

Where the rainfall was light it mostly fell at night, and those observers who, it is feared, only examine their gauges when the fall is noticed sometimes failed to record the full number of rainy days. The number of rainy days is a very important item in comparisons of climate, and half a point of rain is the minimum to be measured. This quantity may be entered as ·01, but all below ·005 is to be neglected, and, if not thrown away, will evaporate. The universal rule of recording the rainfall to the previous day is not followed in some cases and leads to uncertainty at times with regard to the progression of storms across the country. The rains of July were associated with areas of low pressure, which prevailed between (1) the 4th and 8th, (2) the 14th and 18th, and (3) the 24th and 31st. The rain was precipitated both with the fall and the rise of the barometer, and the unsettled conditions between the 24th and 31st were also accompanied by higher winds and greater humidity in general. The highest barometric pressures were recorded in the South on the 1st, and in the North on the 22nd.

Several frosts occurred, but were not very severe. The morning of the 3rd was the coldest throughout the colony; but the atmospheric conditions were more disagreeable about the 17th and 18th, when the barometer was rising, with southerly winds, cold rains, and snow in parts of both Islands. Several mornings and evenings were foggy, and the absence of wind prevented evaporation, so that the lands and roads did not dry up as much as desired after the frequent and light showers experienced during the month.

Thunder and lightning occurred on the night of the 25th, and on this date Mr. K. W. Dalrymple, of Waitatapia, Bull’s, reports, “A thunderbolt apparently fell on the road about a mile from here. People close at hand heard a loud clap almost as if something hit the roof, and next morning there was a hole about 4 ft. deep with clear-cut edges.” Search was to be made for a meteoric substance, but it is believed that none will be found, and that the hole is simply the effect of electricity which dispersed on reaching the water in the subsoil.

With regard to growth during the month, the same observer remarks: “Another very fine month for winter; grass still growing, peaches coming into flower, willows and gooseberries shooting, and fig-buds just opening.” Miss Trimble, of Inglewood, remarks: “The gooseberry-bushes, always the first to show signs of life, were bursting into leaf at the end of the month.” The report from Kamo, North of Auckland, states, “It is interesting to note that spring flowers have made a sudden growth. Annual sweet peas sown here in January have also started to flower freely, and would appear to have almost the power of blossoming twice in the year. This general growth among flowers the observer attributes to the lengthening of the hours of light rather than to any other cause.” Mr. H. A. Goudie, at the Rotorua State Nursery, reported having had quite a number of beautiful days, and he noticed that many of the trees and shrubs are responding to the warmth, and the buds are swelling rapidly. He also says, “An unusual experience, and one which I never observed before, came under my notice this winter. The larch, though a deciduous tree, never sheds its leaves in the one-year state, but invariably sheds them during the second year of its existence. Our crop of two-year-old larch, numbering some three million trees, has during the past winter retained their green appearance to the same extent as the one-year-old trees. The only way in which I can account for this is that the weather has been much milder, and that the growth has never really stopped throughout the winter months.” On the southern parts of both Islands the weather was most favourable to agricultural pursuits.

Influenza and bronchitis were rather prevalent, and were caused by the cold “snaps” at the beginning, middle, and end of the month. Stock are reported as looking in good condition, and very healthy everywhere. Young lambs were beginning to appear in the paddocks at the end of the month. In the reports it is observed that in some parts the farmers expect a very wet spring, and in others an early one. Except for the absence of severe winter frosts, reasons are not given for these surmises, and at the present time sufficient scientific data is not available for such seasonal forecasts. The records show that wintry weather occurs in August, and is often experienced even further on in the spring months.

Meteorological Office, Wellington, 14th August, 1905.

D. C. BATES, F.R.Met.Soc.