1520
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 40

Government Meteorological Observatory.

METEOROLOGICAL Observations at Kelburn, Wellington, for the Month of April, 1935. Observations taken at 9 a.m.

Altitude of Observatory, 415 ft.

Mean earth temperature at 1 ft., 60·5°; and at 3 ft., 62·0°. Number of rain days, 12.

DIRECTION OF WIND.

Gale (force 8 or more). Forces 4 to 7. N. N.E. E. S.E. S. S.W. W. N.W. Calm.
.. | 5 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5½ | 4½ | .. | ½ | 5½ | 3

NOTE.—An excellent autumn month, with mean temperature 2·2° above normal. Total bright sunshine was 187·3 hours, which is 57 per cent. of the possible. There were three days without bright sunshine. Precipitation amounted to 1·79 in., which is 49 per cent. below normal. There was an entire absence of meteorological phenomena during the month. Mean dew-point at 9 a.m., 52·0°; mean vapour pressure, 0·387 in.

NOTES ON THE WEATHER FOR APRIL, 1935.

General.—April was a very mild month with comparatively little stormy weather. The rainfall was irregularly distributed, some districts having much more and some much less than the average. There were, however, few places in which a shortage of moisture gave trouble. There was exceptionally good growth of grass for the time of year, and the country looks very green. The milk yield has been well maintained, and stock are in good condition. Some facial eczema in sheep is still reported from Poverty Bay. In Canterbury and a few localities on the east coast of the North Island where there was a good deal of cloudy weather the new feed is still soft, but elsewhere, particularly in the North Island, the high temperatures and ample sunshine have enabled it to harden, and in many cases the condition of pastures resembles that of a good spring month.

Rainfall.—Parts of western Taranaki and most of the Wellington Province had less than the average rain, but over practically all the remainder of the North Island there was a considerable excess. Many places in the Bay of Plenty and Hawke’s Bay had more than double the average. At Napier more than three times the average was recorded.

In the South Island much of Nelson and Marlborough and parts of Southland had more than the average rainfall, but elsewhere it was a dry month. Parts of south Westland and the interior had deficits of over 50 per cent.

Temperatures.—For the sixth month in succession mean temperatures were everywhere considerably above normal. The departures were highest in the northern and western parts of the North Island, where they were in the neighbourhood of 3° F. In the South Island, and especially eastern districts, they were not so high. There were few frosts and no severe ones.

Sunshine.—Sunshine was below normal in Hawke’s Bay, Canterbury, and Central Otago, but above it elsewhere. Nelson reports 230·8, Tauranga 207·5, and New Plymouth 194·9 hours.

Storm Systems.—The weather was slightly disturbed during the first few days of the month, and during the 3rd and 4th the passing of a westerly depression was accompanied by heavy rain in western and far southern districts.

After a spell of fine weather with anticyclonic conditions ruling there was a stormy period from the 10th to the 14th, especially over the North Island. The pressure distribution was complicated, but towards the end of the period there was a deep and slow-moving cyclone off East Cape. At the beginning there were north-easterly gales in the Auckland Province, while at the end southerly gales blew over the North Island. Heavy rains were practically general. In many parts of the North Island there was flooding, Hawke’s Bay suffering most. Some severe thunderstorms occurred, and snow fell on the mountain-tops.