✨ Meteorological Observations
Government Meteorological Observatory.
METEOROLOGICAL Observations, Wellington, for the Month of December, 1913. Observations taken 9 a.m.
Altitude of Observatory, 8 ft.
| Date. | Barometer reduced and corrected in Inches to Lat. 45° | Max. Temp. in Shade. | Min. Temp. in Shade. | Mean. Temp. in Shade. | Solar Radiation. | Terrestrial Radiation. | Veloc. Wind in Miles. | Amount of Cloud, 0 to 10. | Direction of Wind. | Rainfall, in Points (100 to 1 Inch). |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fah. | Fah. | Fah. | Fah. | |||||||
| 1 | 29·161 | 64·2 | 50·6 | 57·4 | 129·6 | 44·2 | 348 | 3 | N. | 156 |
| 2 | 29·243 | 60·6 | 46·0 | 53·3 | 125·6 | 45·2 | 289 | 10 | S.E. | 45 |
| 3 | 29·509 | 53·6 | 45·2 | 49·4 | 94·6 | 33·2 | 285 | 8 | S. | 1 |
| 4 | 29·753 | 57·8 | 50·2 | 54·0 | 119·2 | 48·2 | 302 | 8 | S. | ... |
| 5 | 29·972 | 59·8 | 48·2 | 54·0 | 131·6 | 42·2 | 264 | 6 | S. | ... |
| 6 | 29·909 | 63·6 | 44·0 | 53·8 | 124·8 | 32·0 | 158 | 6 | N. | 1 |
| 7 | 29·843 | 66·2 | 48·4 | 57·3 | 131·2 | 36·2 | 148 | 5 | E. | 54 |
| 8 | 29·779 | 72·2 | 53·2 | 62·7 | 130·6 | 52·6 | 278 | 10 | S. | 66 |
| 9 | 29·919 | 56·2 | 53·8 | 55·0 | 71·6 | 52·6 | 538 | 10 | S.E. | 6 |
| 10 | 29·849 | 59·8 | 54·6 | 57·2 | 87·8 | 54·6 | 426 | 10 | S. | 21 |
| 11 | 29·609 | 66·6 | 58·0 | 62·3 | 113·6 | 54·4 | 212 | 10 | N.E. | 31 |
| 12 | 29·461 | 69·6 | 53·4 | 61·5 | 130·6 | 43·2 | 70 | 8 | N. | 5 |
| 13 | 29·351 | 68·8 | 56·4 | 62·6 | 141·6 | 54·6 | 254 | 8 | N.W. | ... |
| 14 | 29·370 | 66·4 | 54·6 | 60·5 | 132·6 | 50·4 | 468 | 8 | N.W. | 43 |
| 15 | 29·529 | 62·2 | 52·6 | 57·4 | 134·2 | 44·6 | 314 | 10 | S. | 10 |
| 16 | 29·481 | 61·6 | 51·6 | 56·6 | 133·6 | 43·6 | 224 | 10 | N. | 204 |
| 17 | 29·599 | 64·2 | 50·6 | 57·4 | 118·0 | 49·2 | 318 | 10 | S. | 1 |
| 18 | 29·889 | 60·6 | 44·4 | 52·5 | 136·4 | 33·2 | 176 | 4 | N.W. | 1 |
| 19 | 29·770 | 64·2 | 55·8 | 60·0 | 131·2 | 52·6 | 382 | 8 | N. | 38 |
| 20 | 29·618 | 60·6 | 53·4 | 57·0 | 129·6 | 45·2 | 418 | 8 | N. | 63 |
| 21 | 29·851 | 65·2 | 49·0 | 57·1 | 145·2 | 47·2 | 446 | 8 | S. | 2 |
| 22 | 29·669 | 63·8 | 52·6 | 58·2 | 134·6 | 45·6 | 129 | 8 | S. | ... |
| 23 | 29·941 | 63·2 | 48·0 | 55·6 | 124·2 | 36·6 | 221 | 5 | N. | ... |
| 24 | 30·099 | 65·6 | 55·2 | 60·4 | 128·2 | 44·6 | 208 | 8 | N.W. | ... |
| 25 | 30·173 | 71·2 | 58·6 | 64·9 | 130·0 | 53·2 | 218 | 8 | N. | ... |
| 26 | 30·109 | 72·4 | 57·2 | 64·8 | 140·2 | 54·8 | 136 | 5 | N. | 3 |
| 27 | 30·011 | 75·0 | 59·6 | 67·3 | 132·4 | 58·2 | 267 | 10 | N. | ... |
| 28 | 29·950 | 68·8 | 61·2 | 65·0 | 139·6 | 58·0 | 400 | 8 | N. | ... |
| 29 | 30·112 | 68·6 | 59·2 | 63·9 | 135·2 | 53·6 | 377 | 4 | N. | ... |
| 30 | 30·101 | 76·4 | 52·4 | 64·4 | 134·6 | 36·6 | 153 | 4 | N. | ... |
| 31 | 30·199 | 78·8 | 55·6 | 67·2 | 133·6 | 51·2 | 300 | 3 | S. | ... |
| 29·768 | 65·4 | 52·7 | 59·0 | 126·6 | 46·8 | 282 | 7·4 | ... | 751 | |
| 29·863 | 66·9 | 53·8 | 60·3 | 124·3 | 46·9 | 277 | ... | ... | 333 |
- Means, &c. † Means previous years.
DIRECTION OF WIND.
N. N.E. E. S.E. S. S.W. W. N.W. Calm.
13 1 1 2 10 .. .. 4 ..
NOTE. — The weather from the 1st to the 21st was extremely unsettled, but the latter portion of the month was bright and sunny. The rainfall was over double the average of previous years, while barometric pressure and temperatures were below. Total bright sunshine, 218 h. 10 m., and four sunless days. The mean earth temperature at 1ft. was 61·7°, and 60·9° at 3ft. Mean dew-point, 51·2°; mean elastic force of vapour, 0·377 in.; and mean relative humidity, 75 per cent. of saturation.
CLIMATOLOGICAL TABLE.
MEANS AND TOTALS FROM THE CHIEF STATIONS.
December, 1913.
| Name of Station and Observer. | Altitude above Sea-level. | Absolute Mean Temp. Air in Shade. | Extremes. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deg. | Deg. | Mean Max. Temp. | Mean Min. Temp. | Total Rainfall (100 Points to the Inch). | Days with Rain (3 Points or more). FT. |
NORTH ISLAND. | DARGAVILLE ... Dr. H. M. Levinge | 64·0 | 68·7 | 59·4 | 310 | 16 |
| AUCKLAND ... T. F. Cheeseman | 60·2 | 66·3 | 54·2 | 280 | 16 | ||||
| TE AROHA ... G. F. McGirr | 59·7 | 72·6 | 46·8 | 579 | 16 | ||||
| ROTORUA ... J. F. Robieson | 57·5 | 66·5 | 48·6 | 407 | 14 | ||||
| WAIHI ... H. B. Devereux | 59·6 | 67·5 | 51·8 | 744 | 21 | ||||
| TAURANGA ... C. J. Butcher | 60·0 | 69·4 | 50·7 | 415 | 14 | ||||
| NEW PLYMOUTH ... W. D. Fletcher | 61·3 | 70·6 | 52·1 | 365 | 17 | ||||
| MOUMAHAKI ... A. S. Huntington | 58·2 | 65·1 | 51·4 | 834 | 16 | ||||
| TAIHAPE ... A. R. Fannin | 53·7 | 62·0 | 45·4 | 557 | 18 | ||||
| PALMERSTON NORTH ... J. E. Vernon | 57·9 | 66·6 | 49·2 | 758 | 15 | ||||
| GREYTOWN ... W. C. Davies | 58·7 | 68·2 | 49·3 | 520 | 15 | ||||
| MASTERTON ... Wm. Hood | 57·5 | 68·5 | 46·6 | 497 | 16 | ||||
| GISBORNE ... C. H. Ferris | 60·5 | 70·3 | 50·8 | 233 | 12 | ||||
| GREENMEADOWS, NA-PIER Very Rev. Dean Smyth | 61·5 | 70·7 | 52·3 | 351 | 9 | ||||
| WELLINGTON ... F. W. Simms | 59·0 | 65·4 | 52·7 | 751 | 19 | ||||
| SOUTH ISLAND. | NELSON ... Rev. J. P. Kemp-thorne | 60·6 | 69·9 | 51·4 | 456 | 17 | |||
| HANMER SPA ... Dr. J. C. Duncan | 55·1 | 64·7 | 45·5 | 461 | 14 | ||||
| CHRISTCHURCH ... H. F. Skey | 56·8 | 64·9 | 48·8 | 557 | 14 | ||||
| LINCOLN ... G. Gray | 58·1 | 66·6 | 49·6 | 494 | 16 | ||||
| RAKAIA ... G. S. Hardy | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ||||
| TIMARU ... Caretaker of Domain | 57·2 | 64·9 | 49·6 | 282 | 14 | ||||
| WAIMATE ... G. V. Cochrane | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ||||
| DUNEDIN ... D. Tannock | 55·0 | 61·4 | 48·7 | 482 | 18 | ||||
| GORE ... Captain A.A. Scott | 55·9 | 65·3 | 46·5 | 672 | 17 | ||||
| HOKITIKA ... F. T. Sanford | 56·9 | 63·6 | 50·2 | 427 | 17 | ||||
| INVERCARGILL ... L. Lennie | 54·7 | 63·2 | 46·2 | 294 | 17 |
SUMMARY FOR DECEMBER.
Between the 1st and the 22nd of the month the distribution of atmospheric pressure was such as to cause extremely unsettled weather and an abundance of rainfall. In nearly every instance the disturbance was a cyclonic type, the most intense being the one whose centre passed through Cook Strait on the evening of the 16th, with a barometric reading of 28·98 inches at Wellington. This cyclone moved very rapidly, and in this respect was in marked contrast to one prevailing between the 9th and the 14th. Of the latter, following is given approximately of the position of its centre on the different days while it was under review:
| Day and Date. | Approximate Position of Centre. |
|---|---|
| Monday, 8th December | 500 miles N.W. of Cape Maria van Diemen. |
| Tuesday, 9th | 200 " W.N.W " |
| Wednesday, 10th | 280 " N.W. " Egmont. |
| Thursday, 11th | 160 " W.N.W. of Farewell Spit. |
| Friday, 12th | Off the west coast of the South Island. |
| Saturday, 13th | " east coast of Otago. |
| Monday, 15th | 650 miles E.S.E. of New Zealand. |
On the afternoon of the 20th the winds blew strongly from the south with heavy passing showers in the east coast districts, but this southerly was of short duration and the weather afterwards gradually improved, fair and warm conditions setting in and continuing to the end of the month.
Precipitation was below normal in the western and south-western districts of the South Island, but nearly all other parts of the country experienced an abnormally wet December.
D. C. BATES, Director.
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Online Sources for this page:
VUW Te Waharoa —
NZ Gazette 1914, No 10
NZLII — 🌐 NZ Gazette 1914, No 10
✨ LLM interpretation of page content
🎓 Meteorological Observations for Wellington, December 1913
🎓 Education, Culture & ScienceWeather, Temperature, Rainfall, Wind, Wellington
- D. C. Bates, Director
🎓 Climatological Table for Chief Stations, December 1913
🎓 Education, Culture & ScienceClimate, Temperature, Rainfall, Stations, New Zealand
26 names identified
- H. M. Levinge (Doctor), Observer at Dargaville
- T. F. Cheeseman, Observer at Auckland
- G. F. McGirr, Observer at Te Aroha
- J. F. Robieson, Observer at Rotorua
- H. B. Devereux, Observer at Waihi
- C. J. Butcher, Observer at Tauranga
- W. D. Fletcher, Observer at New Plymouth
- A. S. Huntington, Observer at Moumahaki
- A. R. Fannin, Observer at Taihape
- J. E. Vernon, Observer at Palmerston North
- W. C. Davies, Observer at Greytown
- William Hood, Observer at Masterton
- C. H. Ferris, Observer at Gisborne
- Smyth (Very Reverend Dean), Observer at Greenmeadows, Napier
- F. W. Simms, Observer at Wellington
- J. P. Kempthorne (Reverend), Observer at Nelson
- J. C. Duncan (Doctor), Observer at Hanmer Spa
- H. F. Skey, Observer at Christchurch
- G. Gray, Observer at Lincoln
- G. S. Hardy, Observer at Rakaia
- , Caretaker of Domain at Timaru
- G. V. Cochrane, Observer at Waimate
- D. Tannock, Observer at Dunedin
- A. A. Scott (Captain), Observer at Gore
- F. T. Sanford, Observer at Hokitika
- L. Lennie, Observer at Invercargill