APRIL 29.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 1071

Government Meteorological Observatory.

METEOROLOGICAL Observations at Kelburn, Wellington, for the Month of March, 1937. Observations taken at 9 a.m.

Altitude of Observatory, 415 ft.

Mean earth temperature at 1 ft., 62·1°; and at 3 ft., 61·6°. Number of rain days, 13. Total rainfall, 31 per cent. below normal. Sunshine, 43 per cent. of possible. Mean dew-point at 9 a.m., 53·4°; mean vapour pressure, 0·408 in.

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.
1 | 11 | 6 | 1 | .. | 1½ | 3½ | .. | ½ | 14½ | 4

NOTE.—A north-west gale was experienced on the 29th; light hail fell on the 11th, and there was a fog on the morning of the 22nd.

NOTES ON THE WEATHER FOR MARCH, 1937.

General.—The cold conditions of the previous months were continued through the first half of March, but the second half was warm. Though the rainfall was below normal in most places, cloudy and humid conditions prevailed and few places felt any shortage. Stock are reported to be in good condition, and there is abundance of pasture. Lambs are fattening, on the whole, rather better than earlier in the season, though the feed is generally still rather soft. Harvesting was done in difficult circumstances, and some of the wheat was again damp. The lack of dry, sunny weather has adversely affected the production of grass-seed and some other crops. White butterflies were rather numerous and destructive.

Rainfall.—In the North Island, North Auckland, the northern Waikato, and the Bay of Plenty areas had considerably more than the average rainfall, but over the remainder only about half of it was recorded. In the South Island there was an excess in North Canterbury, southern Otago, and Southland, and at a few places in Westland, but a defect elsewhere. South Canterbury, especially, had much less than the average.

Temperature.—Mean temperatures differed little from the normal for March, the warm weather in the latter half of the month compensating for the cold of the first half. Between the 10th and the 13th some rather sharp frosts were recorded, and some damage was done to tender plants. Sunday, the 28th, was, at many places, the warmest day of the season, over 80° being recorded at some North Island stations.

Sunshine.—Slightly more than the average amount of bright sunshine was recorded in the far North, at Auckland, and the far South, at Invercargill, but over most of the country there was a deficit of about twenty to forty hours. Seldom, if ever, indeed, has so sunless a March been experienced.

Pressure Systems.—The only very pronounced storm occurring in the New Zealand area during the month was that which developed as a tropical cyclone in the New Hebrides region at the end of the third week. Moving almost due south, the storm passed Norfolk Island during the night of the 25th to 26th. It was then rather violent and extensive, and heavy rain accompanied by strong gales, which at times reached hurricane force, were experienced at Norfolk Island. The most usual procedure is for these storms to begin to take a more easterly course from this stage onward. In this particular case, however, a rather deep westerly depression developed at a critical time over south-eastern Australia, and the cyclone was drawn into its circulation. It continued to move southwards, keeping about four hundred miles off the New Zealand coast, and on the 27th began to fill up. North-easterly gales had been caused by it on the northern part of the Auckland Peninsula, but no strong winds elsewhere. On the 28th, merging with the oncoming westerly depression, it reinforced the latter, causing a stormy day with north-westerly gales in many places about and south of Cook Strait. On the next day it had disappeared. During its rather varied history it brought heavy rain to most of the country. The Easter holidays were spoilt by it in much of the Auckland Province.

In the earlier part of the month such rain as occurred was associated principally with rather indefinite westerly depressions of no great intensity. Such was the case with rain during the first four days, which was heavy in many places.