SEPT. 23] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE CLIMATOLOGICAL TABLE—continued Summary of the Records of Temperature, Rainfall, and Sunshine for August, 1948—continued Air Temperatures in Degrees (Fahrenheit). Rainfall in Inches. Station. Height of Station above Means of Absolute Maximum and Total No. Maximum Fall. Bright of Station M.S.L. Mean Minimum. Fall. of Rain Difference Sun- A B and Date. Date. In. Days. from shine. Max. Min. Difference Normal. A and Normal. B. Maximum. Amount. Date Alexandra . . . .. 520 54·9 31·2 43·0 +1·8 65·0 24 20·0 22 0·01 1 -0·64 0·01 18 176·9 Musselburgh, Dunedin 5 52·6 38·9 45·8 (+0·7) 63·2 24 30·2 21 1·53 11 -0·69 0·44 25 144·4 Taieri . .. . . 80 54·1 33·4 43·8 (+0·1) 64·2 15 23·9 2 0·85 9 (-1·10) 0·18 25 East Gore . 245 55·3 35·2 45·2 +2·7 67·0 24 23·0 2 0·61 10 -1·57 0·16 6 Gore . . .. . . 240 55·7 35·0 45·4 +2·5 67·0 23 23·0 2 0·70 10 .. 0·17 10 158·0 Invercargill . .. 32 55·0 36·1 45·6 +2·2 63·0 16 23·0 2 1·25 14 -1·78 0·27 13 144·2 Invercargill South . 8 55·0 36·6 45·8 +1·9 64·2 24 25·2 2 1·17 10 -1·94 0·27 13 NOTE.—At stations where departures from normal are in parentheses the record has been maintained for less than ten years in the case of temperatures and for less than twenty years in the case of rainfall and the normals are partly interpolated.
NOTES ON THE WEATHER FOR AUGUST, 1948 General.—Many fine sunny days helped to make the past month the best August for many years. Cultivation is well up to schedule, and crops and pastures have maintained continuous growth. With an absence of snow or stormy winds young lambs have prospered, and stock in general is reported to be in excellent condition. On the morning of the 25th a disastrous tornado cut a narrow trail of destruction through Frankton Junction. Three people lost their lives and considerable damage to property resulted. About the same time another tornado was reported near National Park. An unusually brilliant display of the Aurora Australis was visible on the evening of the 8th. Rainfall.—On the whole it was a very dry month. Rains in the latter part of the month brought totals slightly above the average in northern and eastern parts of the Auckland Peninsula and about Coromandel, while parts of Taranaki also had a small surplus. The South Island as a whole had less than half the average rainfall. Totals were very low in Central Otago, Waipiata and Patearoa having no measurable rainfall. In parts of Canterbury there has not been a drier August for over forty years. Thunderstorms were widespread over the Auckland Province on the 24th and 25th. Temperatures.—Mean temperatures were above the average over most of the country, with greatest departures in inland Otago. Slight negative departures occurred in the Auckland Province, with the exception of the southern part. Sunshine.—Sunshine totals were much above average in the South Island and in the Wellington Province, the surplus in most places being of the order of an extra hour a day. Neither Hokitika nor Ashburton has had a sunnier August since records commenced over thirty years ago. In the remainder of the North Island totals were mostly near average, but at Napier and in the far north there were significant deficiencies. Weather Sequence.—As a depression moved away to the north-east, anticyclonic conditions prevailed. Barometers soon fell in the south in advance of the first of a series of westerly troughs which reached Westland on the morning of the 3rd. Changeable showery weather affected western districts from Taranaki southwards for several days, while a deep low-pressure centre passed in the far south on the 4th. During its journey north-eastwards on the 6th a cold front intensified considerably over the Nelson and Marlborough districts. A broad band of rain accompanied its subsequent progress over the North Island. The 8th marked the beginning of a spell of brilliantly fine anticyclonic weather, which persisted over the greater part of the country until the 15th. Frosts were widespread, but day temperatures were mild. In Westland the fine spell was interrupted on the 10th by the passage of a weak cold front. Under the influence of a slow-moving depression in the North Tasman Sea rain began to fall intermittently in North Auckland on the 14th, and north-easterlies became strong. Barometers fell steadily over the New Zealand area during the next two days as a complex disturbance moved in from the west. The northern depression then lost its identity, but on the 17th two new centres lay on either side of the South Island. One of these centres moved steadily away south-eastwards from Canterbury; the other, travelling north-eastwards, reached Taranaki on the afternoon of the 18th, passed to northern Hawke’s Bay during that night, and then moved off rapidly to the east. Rain was general in this period, though falls were very light in Canterbury and Central Otago. Cold, showery south-westerlies then invaded the country, some snow falling on the higher ground. The weather soon cleared in Westland and in districts such as the Bay of Plenty, Wellington, and southern Hawke’s Bay, which are somewhat sheltered from the south-westerlies. Changeable showery weather continued in exposed coastal districts until the 21st, when a passing high-pressure ridge gave a brief clearance. The weather deteriorated rapidly from the north and west on the 22nd as a series of deep depressions advanced south-eastwards across the Tasman Sea. The first centre passed Southland on the 23rd, the second crossed Canterbury on the 25th, while the third filled up off Westland on the following day. Although eastern and southern districts of the South Island were little affected, over the greater part of the country this was a period of very disturbed weather. Thunderstorms were widespread in the Taranaki and Auckland provinces on the 25th, and tornadoes were reported from National Park and Frankton. Moderate southerlies prevailed during the 27th and, although skies remained cloudy, the weather gradually improved from the south. It cleared finally on the 28th and, with an intense anticyclone located centrally over the Dominion, brilliantly fine weather persisted in most districts until the end of the month. In the north, however, there was a rapid deterioration on the 30th with the approach of a deep tropical cyclone. Easterly winds rose to gale force in North Auckland, and rain gradually extended southwards over the Auckland and Hawke’s Bay provinces. At the close of the month the cyclone was near North Cape. Its southward progress had been arrested, and it was gradually losing intensity. M. A. F. BARNETT, Director.
Public Trust Office Act, 1908, and its Amendments.—Election to Administer Estates NOTICE is hereby given that the Public Trustee has filed in the Supreme Court an election to administer in respect of the several estates of the persons deceased whose names, residences, and occupations (so far as known) are hereunder set forth :- No. Name. Occupation. Residence. Date Date Testate or Stamp Office of Death. Election Intestate. Concerned. Filed. Christchurch. Beckett, Emily . . Married woman . Christchurch . . 17/8/48 17/9/48 Testate Bowman, Robert Constantine Insurance agent (for- Devonport (formerly 3/8/48 17/9/48 ,, Auckland. merly farmer) Cambridge) , Hislop, William . . Cellarman (formerly Auckland . . 31/7/48 17/9/48 ,, ,, railway employee) Knox, Thomas . . Retired foreman . Brown's Bay . . 27/7/48 17/9/48 ,, ,, Redwood, Ellen Beatrice Married woman Thames . . 16/8/48 17/9/48 ,, ,, Ross, John Theakstone . Cook . . . . . Auckland . . 16/5/48 17/9/48 Intestate ,, ,, Round, Beatrice May . Married woman Christchurch . 16/7/48 17/9/48 Testate Christchurch. Royes, Jane Greig . . Widow . . . . Hamilton . . 17/8/48 17/9/48 ,, ,, Auckland. Warden, John Douglas' Retired hotelkeeper Dunedin . . 5/6/45 17/9/48 ,, ,, Dunedin. (formerly labourer) Withers, John Lawrence Retired engineer . Christchurch . 21/8/48 17/9/48 ,, Christchurch. Public Trust Office, Wellington, 20th September, 1948. W. G. BAIRD, Public Trustee.