✨ Meteorological Observations
Oct. 14.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 2881
Government Meteorological Observatory.
METEOROLOGICAL Observations, Wellington, for the month of August, 1920. Observations taken 9 a.m.
Altitude of Observatory, 8 ft.
| Date. | Barometer reduced in and corrected in Inches to Lat. 45°. | From Self-regulating Instruments, for Twenty-four Hours previously. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max. Temp. in Shade. | Min. Temp. in Shade. | Mean Temp. in Shade. | Solar Radiation. | Terrestrial Radiation. | Velos Wind, in Miles. | Amount of Cloud, 0 to 10. | Direction of Wind. | Rainfall in Points (100 to 1 Inch). | ||
| Fah. | Fah. | Fah. | Fah. | |||||||
| 1 | 30·437 | 54·8 | 46·8 | 50·8 | 109·0 | 43·1 | 336 | 8 | N.N.E. | .. |
| 2 | 30·086 | 55·0 | 52·1 | 53·5 | 90·0 | 49·1 | 565 | 10 | N.W. | 14 |
| 3 | 29·854 | 57·5 | 51·8 | 54·6 | 77·0 | 48·7 | 538 | 8 | N.W. | 43 |
| 4 | 29·918 | 56·8 | 48·2 | 52·5 | 108·0 | 43·2 | 266 | 9 | W. | 54 |
| 5 | 20·970 | 50·7 | 43·1 | 46·9 | 70·0 | 38·8 | 209 | 10 | S.W | 6 |
| 6 | 29·988 | 50·3 | 40·3 | 45·3 | 92·0 | 31·9 | 54 | 10 | Calm | 40 |
| 7 | 29·398 | 49·9 | 43·6 | 46·7 | 93·0 | 42·0 | 111 | 10 | Calm | 25 |
| 8 | 29·504 | 53·5 | 45·7 | 49·6 | 66·0 | 36·4 | 46 | 10 | S. | 10 |
| 9 | 29·972 | 51·8 | 45·0 | 48·4 | 75·0 | 41·8 | 505 | 10 | S.S.W. | 5 |
| 10 | 30·098 | 48·0 | 41·2 | 44·6 | 100·0 | 37·6 | 392 | 4 | S. | .. |
| 11 | 29·992 | 51·0 | 32·9 | 41·9 | 110·0 | 23·4 | 114 | 7 | Calm | 16 |
| 12 | 29·535 | 51·0 | 42·2 | 46·6 | 90·0 | 36·9 | 12 | 10 | E. | 4 |
| 13 | 29·424 | 57·8 | 45·8 | 51·8 | 109·0 | 44·3 | 367 | 10 | S.S.W. | 28 |
| 14 | 29·868 | 46·6 | 40·4 | 43·5 | 81·0 | 38·4 | 618 | 6 | S.S.E. | 40 |
| 15 | 30·029 | 45·8 | 39·8 | 42·8 | 88·0 | 37·1 | 358 | 6 | S. | 21 |
| 16 | 30·191 | 47·7 | 40·6 | 44·1 | 102·0 | 37·9 | 419 | 10 | S.S.E. | 30 |
| 17 | 30·145 | 48·3 | 40·0 | 44·1 | 109·0 | 34·1 | 237 | 8 | Calm | 5 |
| 18 | 30·020 | 49·6 | 30·2 | 39·9 | 101·0 | 19·1 | 59 | 0 | Calm | 1 |
| 19 | 30·042 | 51·5 | 35·8 | 43·6 | 104·0 | 23·5 | 124 | 8 | S.S.W. | 1 |
| 20 | 29·993 | 50·4 | 36·6 | 43·5 | 108·0 | 25·4 | 216 | 8 | S. | 10 |
| 21 | 30·053 | 49·5 | 38·7 | 44·1 | 106·0 | 34·6 | 459 | 5 | S.E. | 7 |
| 22 | 30·119 | 47·8 | 31·9 | 39·8 | 106·0 | 21·5 | 219 | 1 | N.E. | .. |
| 23 | 29·974 | 49·8 | 36·2 | 43·0 | 108·0 | 28·7 | 144 | 0 | N.E. | .. |
| 24 | 29·886 | 54·0 | 47·1 | 50·5 | 106·0 | 42·0 | 290 | 4 | N.N.W | .. |
| 25 | 29·920 | 56·1 | 45·3 | 50·7 | 114·0 | 35·6 | 231 | 0 | N.E. | 31 |
| 26 | 29·167 | 60·4 | 49·3 | 54·8 | 116·9 | 48·0 | 341 | 3 | N.N.W | 52 |
| 27 | 29·188 | 55·5 | 46·7 | 51·1 | 107·0 | 44·8 | 569 | 10 | S.S.W. | 23 |
| 28 | 29·802 | 47·6 | 36·3 | 41·9 | 71·0 | 25·1 | 276 | 9 | N. | 3 |
| 29 | 29·954 | 53·2 | 43·8 | 48·5 | 116·0 | 35·9 | 138 | 8 | N.E. | .. |
| 30 | 30·124 | 56·9 | 36·5 | 46·7 | 104·0 | 25·0 | 50 | 6 | Calm | 4 |
| 31 | 30·382 | 56·8 | 43·0 | 49·9 | 115·0 | 41·0 | 301 | 8 | S. | Trace |
| * | 29·904 | 52·1 | 41·8 | 46·9 | 98·4 | 36·0 | 276·3 | 6·9 | .. | 473 |
| † | 29·948 | 54·4 | 42·8 | 48·6 | 94·9 | 35·7 | 215 | .. | .. | 446 |
- Means, &c. † Means previous years.
DIRECTION OF WIND.
N. N.E. E. S.E. S. S.W. W. N.W. Calm.
4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6
NOTE.—The weather during the month has been cold and showery, with moderate to strong southerly winds prevailing. Rainfall was recorded on twenty-four days, and was 6 per cent. above the mean of previous years. Total bright sunshine, 123 hours 6 minutes, and four sunless days. Frost was recorded on the grass on nine days. Mean earth-temperature at 1 ft. was 46·4°, and 49° at 3 ft. Mean dew-point, 41·9°; mean elastic force of vapour, 0·266 in.; and mean relative humidity, 82 per cent. of saturation.
CLIMATOLOGICAL TABLE.
MEANS AND TOTALS FROM THE CHIEF STATIONS.
August, 1920.
| Altitude above Sea-level. | Name of Station and Observer. | Absolute Mean in Temp. Air in Shade. | Extremes. | Total Rainfall (100 Points to the Inch). | Days with Rain (¼ Point or more) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ft. | Deg. | Mean Max. Temp. | Mean Min. Temp. | Points. | Dys. | |
| 125 | NORTH ISLAND. | |||||
| AUCKLAND | 51·7 | 57·3 | 46·1 | 600 | 19 | |
| F. A. F. Burnett | ||||||
| 46 | TE AROHA .. | 49·3 | 57·8 | 40·8 | 520 | 14 |
| G. F. McGirr | ||||||
| 925 | ROTORUA .. | 47·7 | 58·0 | 37·4 | 580 | 11 |
| L. Bayfield | ||||||
| 340 | WAIHI | 47·5 | 56·4 | 38·7 | 958 | 21 |
| P. A. Clifford | ||||||
| TAURANGA .. | 48·2 | 57·6 | 38·8 | 736 | 18 | |
| C. J. Butcher | ||||||
| 160 | NEW PLYMOUTH | 48·5 | 56·2 | 40·9 | 505 | 13 |
| W. W. Smith | ||||||
| 250 | MOUMAHAKI | 46·8 | 55·3 | 38·4 | 454 | 16 |
| J. G. McFarlane | ||||||
| 2080 | TAIHAPE .. | 41·6 | 47·9 | 35·4 | 207 | 17 |
| A. R. Fannin | ||||||
| 100 | PALMERSTON NORTH . | 44·5 | 52·5 | 36·5 | 263 | 14 |
| J. A. Colquhoun | ||||||
| 119 | CENTRAL DEVELOPMENT FARM, WERAROA | 46·2 | 54·6 | 37·8 | 471 | 14 |
| J. Beverley | ||||||
| 186 | GREYTOWN· | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| T. W. Bowman | ||||||
| 377 | MASTERION | 45·1 | 53·7 | 36·5 | 369 | 22 |
| R. Brown | ||||||
| 70 | GREENMEADOWS, NA- PIER | 47·6 | 55·5 | 39·8 | 293 | 11 |
| T. B. McBreen | ||||||
| TRENTHAM MILITARY HOSPITAL | 43·8 | 50·4 | 37·3 | 530 | 16 | |
| 10 | WELLINGTON | 46·9 | 52·1 | 41·8 | 473 | 24 |
| SOUTH ISLAND. | ||||||
| BRIGHTWATER | 45·9 | 56·0 | 35·8 | 411 | 11 | |
| Ven. Archdeacon Kemphorne | ||||||
| 34 | NELSON .. | 46·5 | 53·9 | 39·2 | 532 | 11 |
| J. Williams | ||||||
| 1220 | HANMER SPA | 38·1 | 48·3 | 28·0 | 474 | 12 |
| G. J. O'Brien | ||||||
| 25 | CHRISTCHURCH | 4·22 | 49·4 | 35·1 | 212 | 14 |
| H. F. Skey | ||||||
| 42 | LINCOLN .. | 43·3 | 51·9 | 34·8 | 255 | 13 |
| L. J. Wild | ||||||
| 1220 | KISSELTON .. | 39·5 | 47·3 | 31·7 | 468 | 9 |
| A. R. Blackwood | ||||||
| RAKAIA .. | 41·7 | 50·1 | 33·3 | 360 | 11 | |
| Miss A. Hardy | ||||||
| 130 | TIMARU .. | 42·6 | 50·8 | 34·5 | 431 | 11 |
| Caretaker of Domain | ||||||
| 200 | WAIMATE .. | 41·8 | 49·4 | 34·3 | 432 | 13 |
| F. Akhurst | ||||||
| 300 | DUNEDIN .. | 42·4 | 48·0 | 36·9 | 421 | 22 |
| D. Tannock | ||||||
| 245 | GORE .. | 38·1 | 36·9 | 29·4 | 122 | 17 |
| A. T. Newman | ||||||
| 12 | HOKITIKA .. | 45·2 | 53·9 | 36·5 | 1339 | 13 |
| J. A. Chesney | ||||||
| 12 | INVERCARGILL | 40·5 | 48·9 | 32·2 | 237 | 18 |
| L. Lennie | ||||||
| TRENTHAM MILITARY HOSPITAL | (April, 1919 | 156 | 6 | |||
| (May, 1919 | 231 | 9 |
SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST, 1920.
August was generally cold and unsettled, being more wintry in character than the two previous months.
The most severe storm was the result of an intense westerly low-pressure area, the trough of which passed on the 26th, the barometer reading on that date at the Bluff being as low as 28·54 inches. West to south-west gales were experienced about this time, and very heavy seas occurred on the West Coast of the South Island.
Minor disturbances of both antarctic and tropical origin were frequent during the month. Rainfall, in consequence, was above the average over most of the South Island and in all but the middle districts of the North.
D. C. BATES, Director.
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Online Sources for this page:
VUW Te Waharoa —
NZ Gazette 1920, No 85
NZLII —
NZ Gazette 1920, No 85
✨ LLM interpretation of page content
🏗️ Meteorological Observations for Wellington, August 1920
🏗️ Infrastructure & Public WorksWeather, Temperature, Rainfall, Wind, Wellington
- D. C. Bates, Director
🏗️ Climatological Table for Chief Stations, August 1920
🏗️ Infrastructure & Public WorksClimate, Temperature, Rainfall, Stations, August 1920
25 names identified
- F. A. F. Burnett, Observer at Auckland
- G. F. McGirr, Observer at Te Aroha
- L. Bayfield, Observer at Rotorua
- P. A. Clifford, Observer at Waihi
- C. J. Butcher, Observer at Tauranga
- W. W. Smith, Observer at New Plymouth
- J. G. McFarlane, Observer at Moumahaki
- A. R. Fannin, Observer at Taihape
- J. A. Colquhoun, Observer at Palmerston North
- J. Beverley, Observer at Central Development Farm, Weraroa
- T. W. Bowman, Observer at Greytown
- R. Brown, Observer at Masterton
- T. B. McBreen, Observer at Greenmeadows, Napier
- Kemphorne (Ven. Archdeacon), Observer at Brightwater
- J. Williams, Observer at Nelson
- G. J. O'Brien, Observer at Hanmer Spa
- H. F. Skey, Observer at Christchurch
- L. J. Wild, Observer at Lincoln
- A. R. Blackwood, Observer at Kisselton
- A. Hardy (Miss), Observer at Rakaia
- F. Akhurst, Observer at Waimate
- D. Tannock, Observer at Dunedin
- A. T. Newman, Observer at Gore
- J. A. Chesney, Observer at Hokitika
- L. Lennie, Observer at Invercargill
- D. C. Bates, Director