Dec. 24.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 3619

Government Meteorological Observatory.

METEOROLOGICAL Observations at Kelburn, Wellington, for the Month of November, 1931. Observations taken at 9 a.m.

Altitude of Observatory, 415 ft.

Mean earth temperature at 1 ft., 59·8°; and at 3 ft., 57·5°. Number of rain days, 9.

DIRECTION OF WIND.

NOTE.—A fine sunny month, with moderate to high north-west winds prevailing. The approximate mean temperature was 2° F. above the average, and precipitation was 10 per cent. below the mean of previous years. Total bright sunshine, 262·5 hours, 61 per cent. of the possible, and two sunless days. The sunniest November for twenty-one years. Frost was recorded on the grass on the morning of the 5th, and fog was in evidence on the 2nd and 13th. Hail fell on the 4th, and lightning was seen and thunder heard on the 30th. Mean dew-point at 9 hrs., was 50·2s; and mean vapour pressure, 0·362 in.

SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER, 1931.

General.—In marked contrast to last year, when November was one of the coldest ever experienced, the past month has been a particularly warm one, at many places the mean temperature being the highest recorded in November for many years.

Rainfall.—Over the greater portion of the Dominion it was also a very dry month, Taranaki and isolated places in the far North and South being the only parts of the country where the total rainfall exceeded the average. The greatest deficiencies occurred in the Nelson and East Coast Provinces. The continued dry weather in these districts has had the effect of retarding the growth of vegetation, cereal crops in South Canterbury, especially, suffering severely in this respect. A fairly general rain, however, about the 21st was very helpful, and greatly relieved the anxiety of the farmers. Unfortunately, Hawke’s Bay received little or no rain at this time. In most other parts of the Dominion, on account of occasional local showers and warm temperatures, vegetation made fair growth. For instance, in the central portion of the North Island, the sultry conditions which had prevailed culminated in some severe thunderstorms accompanied by heavy downpours on the afternoon of the 14th. This rain was of immense benefit to the Waikato district. In Taranaki, also, where rain was more plentiful, feed grew rapidly, and there was a surplus of grass for the first time this year. For the country as a whole, however, good rains are needed to ensure a better growth in crops and sufficient pasturage for the summer.

Stock generally are in good condition, especially sheep, cattle having suffered somewhat from the dryness in the eastern districts.

Pressure Systems.—The month opened with dull, misty weather, under the influence of a small cyclone, the centre of which passed through Cook Strait on the night of the 2nd. During the first three days rain fell in most districts, the falls generally being only light, but some good totals were recorded in the Taranaki and Wellington Provinces.

An intense anticyclone moved on to New Zealand on the 4th, and from the 5th real summerlike weather set in and persisted until the 20th, hot temperatures prevailing at times. During this period, however, particularly from the 12th to the 15th, high temperatures and conflicting winds between two anticyclone centres were favourable to the development of thunderstorms in the central portion of the North Island. On the 12th one of the most severe thunderstorms ever experienced passed over the Waimarino and Waipukurau districts; the accompanying rain was abnormally heavy, and various places suffered severe damage from land slips, &c. On the 15th another severe thunderstorm occurred, this time in the Rotorua district, and the heavy rain associated with it flooded many of the creeks in the locality.

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