SEPT. 28.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 2597

Government Meteorological Observatory.

METEOROLOGICAL Observations at Kelburn, Wellington, for the Month of August, 1939. Observations taken at 9 a.m.

Altitude of Observatory, 415 ft.

Mean earth temperature at 1 ft., 46.4°; and at 3 ft., 47.0°. Number of rain days, 18. Total rainfall, 50 per cent. above normal. Sunshine, 43 per cent. of the possible. Mean dew-point at 9 a.m., 42.2°; mean vapour pressure, 0.268 in.

DIRECTION OF WIND.

NOTE.—The month was more typical of spring than winter, with a prevalence of north-westerly winds and mild weather. A thunderstorm on the morning of the 30th was accompanied by torrential rain in the Hutt Valley. Frosts were recorded on three occasions.

NOTES ON THE WEATHER FOR AUGUST, 1939.

General.—August was rather a wet month. In many districts where there has been little sunshine conditions have been poor for stock and pasture alike. The warmer rains in the latter part of the month have, however, resulted in a spring flush and crops are beginning to make good growth. In the sunnier districts there was a continual growth throughout the month. The milder conditions prevailing at the close of the month are promising for a successful spring to the man on the land.

Rainfall.—Rain fell frequently throughout the month. Most of the South Island received more than the average rain. The figures for the central portions of the North Island were well above normal, but east of the ranges south of East Cape falls were light and were under half the average in many cases. Heavy rain on the 16th and 17th resulted in serious flooding in the Manawatu.

Temperature.—Over the North Island, except in Taranaki, temperatures reached the normal figure and were one or two degrees above it in eastern areas. Except for Marlborough, the South Island temperatures were on the average two degrees below normal. Frosts were fairly severe in the first-half of the month. Some snow fell, chiefly in the period 11th to 13th, in the South Island and in the Taupo-Rotorua region.

Sunshine.—It was a poor month for sunshine in the South Island, again excepting Marlborough, with records more than twenty hours below average. Taranaki was also under average, but the rest of the North Island was not far off the standard figure.

Thunderstorms.—A number of these occurred throughout the month, particularly during the 30th. Apart from blown fuses the damage was negligible.

Pressure Systems.—At first, showery conditions prevailed on the east coast of the North Island, but an anticyclone gradually extended from the South Island over the whole Dominion, giving mainly fair to fine weather with southerly winds and cool temperatures. As a complex depression approached, the anticyclone began to move away on the 7th, resulting in moderate to strong northerly winds and rising temperatures. This and a succession of shallow depressions kept the weather unsettled, with heavy rain at times, chiefly in western districts.

With south-easterly winds south of Christchurch on the 10th and 11th there was dull, cold weather followed by snow. Between the Australian anticyclone and the very low-pressure centre to the south-east there was a strong south-westerly gradient. Conditions improved rapidly in the east, but were cold, changeable, and showery in the west. In this period snow fell in the centre of the North Island and down to low levels in many parts of the South Island. Hail was also widespread.

From the 15th to the 17th the situation was more of the westerly type with strong, squally winds, especially over the Auckland Peninsula. The weather was mainly fair east of the ranges, but very changeable and cool elsewhere with many thunderstorms and heavy rain. The Manawatu district experienced serious flooding. On the 18th and 19th the weather was unsettled with light falls, chiefly in central provinces. After the 20th, north-easterlies predominated for several days, with relatively high pressure persisting to the south-east. Rain fell at times, mainly in the upper-half of the North Island.