✨ Meteorological Observations
JUNE 21.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 1751
Government Meteorological Observatory.
METEOROLOGICAL Observations, Wellington, for the month of April, 1923. Observations taken 9 a.m.
Altitude of Observatory, 10 ft.
| Date. | Barometer reduced in and corrected to Lat. 45°. Inches to Lat. 45°. | From Self-registering Instruments, for Twenty-four Hours previously. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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. | Fah. | ||||||
| 1 | 29·586 | 63·5 | 57·5 | 60·5 | 110·0 | 52·2 | 523 | 3 | N.N.W. | .. |
| 2 | 29·867 | 63·7 | 53·4 | 58·5 | 125·0 | 44·0 | 320 | 1 | N.N.W. | 3 |
| 3 | 30·165 | 65·0 | 44·3 | 54·6 | 125·0 | 31·7 | 170 | 3 | S.S.W. | 3 |
| 4 | 30·429 | 60·5 | 47·0 | 53·7 | 120·0 | 35·7 | 201 | 3 | N.E. | Trace |
| 5 | 30·165 | 62·3 | 55·7 | 59·0 | 120·0 | 52·2 | 327 | 3 | N.N.W. | .. |
| 6 | 30·115 | 62·0 | 50·9 | 56·4 | 122·0 | 39·2 | 301 | 2 | S. | .. |
| 7 | 29·919 | 66·2 | 45·8 | 56·0 | 118·0 | 34·2 | 197 | 6 | N.N.E. | 58 |
| 8 | 29·663 | 63·0 | 43·8 | 53·4 | 124·0 | 42·0 | 442 | 10 | WNW | 82 |
| 9 | 29·996 | 63·0 | 38·0 | 50·5 | 97·0 | 32·3 | 372 | 10 | S.S.W. | 15 |
| 10 | 30·289 | 61·5 | 39·7 | 50·6 | 109·0 | 39·2 | 119 | 3 | S. | .. |
| 11 | 30·378 | 58·3 | 40·0 | 49·1 | 117·0 | 29·0 | 227 | 7 | N.E. | .. |
| 12 | 30·585 | 62·5 | 51·4 | 56·9 | 128·0 | 42·8 | 174 | 10 | S.S.E. | .. |
| 13 | 30·543 | 65·0 | 41·6 | 53·3 | 120·0 | 30·0 | 87 | 10 | N.E. | .. |
| 14 | 30·383 | 62·0 | 52·2 | 57·1 | 110·0 | 48·5 | 187 | 5 | N.W. | .. |
| 15 | 30·527 | 63·1 | 49·5 | 56·3 | 115·0 | 33·2 | 184 | 10 | S. | .. |
| 16 | 30·569 | 65·6 | 38·8 | 52·2 | 108·0 | 29·3 | 109 | 0 | Calm | .. |
| 17 | 30·575 | 61·7 | 37·3 | 49·5 | 117·0 | 26·0 | 92 | 1 | Calm | .. |
| 18 | 30·499 | 63·3 | 48·0 | 55·6 | 115·0 | 30·2 | 37 | 3 | Calm | .. |
| 19 | 30·312 | 64·1 | 40·2 | 52·1 | 113·0 | 29·6 | 31 | 2 | Calm | .. |
| 20 | 30·140 | 66·6 | 48·8 | 57·7 | 118·0 | 34·0 | 23 | 9 | Calm | 17 |
| 21 | 29·843 | 70·7 | 54·3 | 62·5 | 122·0 | 53·5 | 73 | 9 | E. | 88 |
| 22 | 29·705 | 70·0 | 50·4 | 60·2 | 100·0 | 49·6 | 243 | 10 | S. | 4 |
| 23 | 29·888 | 59·7 | 52·0 | 55·8 | 100·0 | 47·0 | 195 | 3 | N. | .. |
| 24 | 29·981 | 64·1 | 45·5 | 54·8 | 114·0 | 35·9 | 84 | 9 | S. | 3 |
| 25 | 30·090 | 61·0 | 52·0 | 56·5 | 86·0 | 49·2 | 237 | 10 | S. | 10 |
| 26 | 29·977 | 59·4 | 49·8 | 54·6 | 99·0 | 48·3 | 505 | 10 | S. | 15 |
| 27 | 30·100 | 56·0 | 49·6 | 52·8 | 81·0 | 46·2 | 526 | 8 | S.S.E. | 10 |
| 28 | 30·299 | 60·4 | 47·1 | 53·7 | 108·0 | 44·2 | 439 | 7 | S. | Trace |
| 29 | 30·443 | 61·3 | 35·7 | 48·5 | 111·0 | 25·0 | 161 | 0 | E. | .. |
| 30 | 30·434 | 58·0 | 38·0 | 48·0 | 108·0 | 27·2 | 58 | 1 | N. | .. |
| 31 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| * | 30·182 | 62·8 | 46·6 | 54·7 | 112·0 | 38·7 | 221·5 | 5·6 | .. | 308 |
| † | 30·043 | 62·7 | 51·2 | 56·9 | 107·1 | 44·2 | 234 | 5·5 | .. | 392 |
- Means, &c. † Means previous years.
DIRECTION OF WIND.
N. .. N.E. E. S.E. S. S.W. W. N.W. Calm.
6 | 3 | 2 | .. | 12 | .. | 1 | 1 | 5
NOTE.—The weather during the month was fair to cloudy, with moderate to strong southerly winds prevailing. Precipitation occurred on 12 days, and was 21 per cent. below the mean of previous years. Total bright sunshine 176 hours 25 minutes, 53 per cent. of the possible, and two sunless days. Thunder was heard on the 9th, and severe hail fell on the same day, while nine frosts were recorded on the grass during the month. Mean earth-temperature at 1 ft. was 55°, and 58·3° at 3 ft. Mean dew-point, 45·4°; mean elastic force of vapour, 0·304 in.; and mean relative humidity, 71 per cent. of saturation.
CLIMATOLOGICAL TABLE.
MEANS AND TOTALS FROM THE CHIEF STATIONS.
April, 1923.
| Altitude above Sea-level. | Name of Station and Observer. | Absolute Mean Temp. Air in Shade. | Extremes. | Total Rainfall (100 Points to the Inch). | Days with Rain (½ Point or more). | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean Max. Temp. | Mean Min. Temp. | |||||
| Ft. | Deg. | Deg. | Deg. | Points. | Dys. | |
| 125 | NORTH ISLAND. AUCKLAND .. | 58·0 | 64·3 | 51·7 | 573 | 10 |
| 131 | RUA KURA FARM, HAMILTON EAST W. B. Monro | 53·0 | 66·1 | 39·8 | 710 | 8 |
| 46 | TE AROHA .. W. O’Connell | 57·0 | 68·2 | 45·9 | 1400 | 11 |
| 340 | WAIHI .. C. F. Sims. | 55·1 | 65·8 | 44·5 | 1338 | 12 |
| 100 | TAURANGA .. C. J. Butcher | 55·5 | 64·9 | 46·2 | 1254 | 10 |
| 925 | ROTORUA .. W. E. Penno | 53·5 | 64·8 | 42·3 | 715 | 11 |
| 60 | NEW PLYMOUTH G. H. Dolby | 54·5 | 61·9 | 47·1 | 328 | 9 |
| 250 | MOUMAHAKI J. G. McFarlane | 50·6 | 60·2 | 41·1 | 355 | 9 |
| 2080 | TAIHAPE .. A. R. Fannin | 48·9 | 56·8 | 41·0 | 249 | 14 |
| 100 | PALMERSTON NORTH.. J. A. Colquhoun | 53·2 | 62·7 | 43·6 | 179 | 9 |
| 5 | OROUA DOWNS H. D. Stride | 51·8 | 62·3 | 41·3 | 145 | 8 |
| 119 | CENTRAL DEVELOPMENT FARM, WERAROA J. E. Sharp | 52·2 | 60·8 | 43·5 | 146 | 8 |
| 377 | MASTER TON R. Brown | 51·3 | 62·3 | 40·3 | 267 | 13 |
| 186 | GREYTOWN W. Allan | 51·0 | 61·4 | 40·6 | 238 | 10 |
| 10 | WELLINGTON .. | 54·7 | 62·8 | 46·6 | 308 | 12 |
| SOUTH ISLAND. | ||||||
| 87 | BRIGHTWATER Ven. Archdeacon Kempthorne | 52·6 | 63·0 | 42·2 | 296 | 7 |
| 34 | NELSON .. Wm. C. Davies | 53·9 | 63·1 | 44·8 | 117 | 4 |
| 1220 | HANMER SPRINGS W. G. Morrison | 49·5 | 63·5 | 35·6 | 201 | 6 |
| 25 | CHRISTCHURCH H. F. Skey | 50·1 | 58·3 | 41·8 | 294 | 13 |
| 42 | LINCOLN .. M. J. Scott | 49·7 | 61·5 | 38·0 | 310 | 13 |
| 1220 | KISSELTON .. F. Freeman | 49·6 | 62·0 | 37·2 | 123 | 2 |
| 349 | RAKAIA .. Miss A. Hardy | 49·9 | 59·4 | 40·4 | 240 | 8 |
| 130 | TIMARU .. Caretaker of Domain | 50·3 | 58·7 | 42·0 | 223 | 12 |
| 200 | WAIMATE .. F. Akhurst | 49·4 | 58·3 | 40·5 | 228 | 14 |
| 300 | DUNEDIN .. D. Tannock | 49·4 | 56·5 | 42·3 | 1060 | 12 |
| 245 | GORE .. A. T. Newman | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| 12 | HOKITIKA .. J. A. Chesney | 50·6 | 60·2 | 41·0 | 219 | 9 |
| 12 | INVERCARGILL L. Lennie | 48·1 | 55·2 | 41·1 | 363 | 18 |
LATE RETURNS.
| 245 | GORE (Nov., 1922) .. | 52·5 | 62·2 | 42·9 | 488 | 25 |
| ,, (Dec., 1922) .. | 55·6 | 66·3 | 44·9 | 433 | 18 | |
| 12 | INVERCARGILL (Mar., 1922) | 52·2 | 61·6 | 42·8 | 744 | 18 |
ERRATUM.
| 125 | AUCKLAND (Mar., 1923) | 62·2 | 68·5 | 56·0 | .. | .. |
SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL, 1923.
During April there were two periods of unsettled weather—viz., between the 7th and 10th and from the 18th to the 28th. In the former period a disturbance which passed in the South on the night of the 7th developed considerable intensity to the eastward on the following day, and accounted for a heavy south-west gale. Cold and stormy conditions prevailed, especially along the east coast on the 8th and 9th, and electrical disturbances and heavy hail showers were experienced, with snow on the higher levels.
The heaviest rains, however, fell in the period 18th to 28th, when extratropical disturbance dominated. Very heavy rain and floods with easterly gales occurred between the 19th and 21st in the northern half of the North Island. The centre of the storm passed in the North on the 22nd. It was followed by a “secondary,” which apparently developed in the South, and caused one of the most serious floods experienced in Dunedin. In that city the total rainfall for the three days (20th, 21st, and 22nd) was 8·45 inches, of which 6·81 inches fell on the 21st.
A remarkable feature about both these disturbances was that the heavy downpours were confined to comparatively small areas. This is shown in the totals for the month, which were much above the average northward of Kawhia and Gisborne in the North Island, and on the east coast between Kaikoura and Nugget Point in the South Island. All other parts of the Dominion show an aggregate rainfall considerably below the mean.
Anticyclonic conditions and fair weather were general between the 10th and 17th and on the last two days of the month.
D. C. BATES, Director.
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Online Sources for this page:
VUW Te Waharoa —
NZ Gazette 1923, No 53
NZLII —
NZ Gazette 1923, No 53
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🏗️ Meteorological Observations for Wellington, April 1923
🏗️ Infrastructure & Public WorksWeather, Temperature, Rainfall, Wind, Wellington
- D. C. Bates, Director
🏗️ Climatological Table for Chief Stations, April 1923
🏗️ Infrastructure & Public WorksClimate, Temperature, Rainfall, Stations, April 1923
25 names identified
- Archdeacon Kempthorne (Ven.), Observer at Brightwater
- Wm. C. Davies, Observer at Nelson
- W. G. Morrison, Observer at Hanmer Springs
- H. F. Skey, Observer at Christchurch
- M. J. Scott, Observer at Lincoln
- F. Freeman, Observer at Kisselton
- A. Hardy (Miss), Observer at Rakaia
- D. Tannock, Observer at Dunedin
- A. T. Newman, Observer at Gore
- J. A. Chesney, Observer at Hokitika
- L. Lennie, Observer at Invercargill
- W. B. Monro, Observer at Rua Kura Farm, Hamilton East
- W. O’Connell, Observer at Te Aroha
- C. F. Sims, Observer at Waihi
- C. J. Butcher, Observer at Tauranga
- W. E. Penno, Observer at Rotorua
- G. H. Dolby, Observer at New Plymouth
- J. G. McFarlane, Observer at Moumahaki
- A. R. Fannin, Observer at Taihape
- J. A. Colquhoun, Observer at Palmerston North
- H. D. Stride, Observer at Oroua Downs
- J. E. Sharp, Observer at Central Development Farm, Weraroa
- R. Brown, Observer at Masterton
- W. Allan, Observer at Greytown
- F. Akhurst, Observer at Waimate
- D. C. Bates, Director