Sept. 27.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 3013

Government Meteorological Observatory.

METEOROLOGICAL Observations at Kelburn, Wellington, for the Month of August, 1934. Observations taken at 9 a.m.

Altitude of Observatory, 415 ft.

Mean earth temperature at 1 ft., 47·5°; and at 3 ft., 48·2°. Number of rain days, 20.

DIRECTION OF WIND.

NOTE.—A wet and windy month, with mean temperature slightly above normal. Total bright sunshine, 125·8 hours, 39 per cent. of the possible; six sunless days. Precipitation was 35 per cent. above the average. From the 13th to the 26th there were fourteen consecutive days on which rain was recorded. There was a northerly gale on the 16th, accompanied by very heavy rain, and on the 25th a heavy gale from the south was experienced, when snow fell to a low level on the Orongorongos and Hutt hills. Fog occurred on the 22nd and 23rd, the latter being very dense on the Harbour; hail fell on five occasions and there were five frosts, that of the 11th being severe. Mean dew-point at 9 a.m., 43·0°; mean vapour pressure, 0·277 in.

NOTES ON THE WEATHER FOR AUGUST, 1934.

General.—There were two sharp cold snaps in August, each associated with widespread snowfalls, the first shortly before the middle and the second before the end of the month. The second was the more severe owing especially to the southerly gale which accompanied it. The remainder of the month, however, was mild and spring-like, and mean temperatures were, in general, somewhat above normal. A good deal of showery weather occurred, and the amount of sunshine experienced was less than usual. Rainfall was generally above average in the South Island but below it in the North. Though, in some districts, there were heavy losses in the cold spell towards the end of the month, the lambing season is proceeding favourably. Pasture is plentiful for the time of year, and stock are reported to be in very good condition. In Canterbury the wetness of the soil has prevented the sowing of wheat crops over large areas, and the work on other crops is behindhand. Signs of spring in bird and plant life are numerous. White butterflies are already appearing in large numbers.

Rainfall.—As stated above, the month was a dry one over most of the North Island, eastern districts, from the Wairarapa to East Cape particularly, receiving much less than the average fall. Parts of North Taranaki, the Bay of Plenty, and an area around Wellington, however, had rather more than the average, while in the extreme North there were some very heavy falls. In the South Island most districts experienced a very wet month, but in Southland and the eastern portions of Otago and South Canterbury isolated areas recorded less than the average.

Temperature.—At a few places on the east coast the mean temperature was very slightly below normal, but over the rest of the country the normal was exceeded. The departures were generally slight, but in parts of the South Island amounted to over 1°. Frosts were fairly numerous and occasionally severe, but there were some beautifully mild days.

Sunshine.—The amount of bright sunshine fell considerably below the average for August. Napier, with 188·7 hours, and Invercargill were the only places where the normal was exceeded.

Storm Systems.—There were only three storms of any severity. A shallow depression which crossed the Dominion during the 5th and 6th caused considerable rain during its passage, especially in the far North and north-east where there was some flooding, but no very stormy weather occurred. The disturbance rejuvenated, however, when it was to