CLIMATOLOGICAL TABLE—continued

Summary of the Records of Temperature, Rainfall, and Sunshine for April, 1949—continued

| Station. | Height of Station above M.S.L. | Means of | Mean A Max. | B Min. | Difference from Normal. | Air Temperatures in Degrees (Fahrenheit). | Absolute Maximum and Minimum. | Maximum Amount. | Date. | Minimum. | Date. | Rainfall in Inches. | Total Fall. | No. of Rain Days. | Difference from Normal. | Amount. | Date. | Bright Sunshine. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Waipiata | .. | 1,550 | 54·6 | 37·7 | 46·2 | -3·7 | 68·4 | 9 | 31·0 | 6 | 0·57 | 10 | -1·09 | 0·22 | 4 | 135·7 |
| Earnscleugh | .. | 500 | 59·1 | 37·4 | 48·2 | .. | 70·1 | 9 | 24·5 | 30 | 0·61 | 5 | .. | 0·30 | 8 | .. |
| Alexandra | .. | 520 | 58·9 | 37·6 | 48·2 | -3·3 | 71·1 | 9 | 25·6 | 30 | 0·57 | 7 | -0·96 | 0·28 | 8 | 134·3 |
| Musselburgh, Dunedin | 5 | 57·6 | 44·2 | 50·9 | (-1·8) | 70·0 | 24 | 33·0 | 15 | 2·38 | 14 | -0·31 | 0·87 | 27 | 109·2 |
| Taieri | .. | 80 | 57·9 | 39·9 | 48·9 | (-2·4) | 69·0 | 24 | 28·3 | 20 | 1·84 | 16 | (-0·55) | 0·70 | 27 | .. |
| East Gore | .. | 245 | 55·7 | 39·7 | 47·7 | -2·8 | 69·0 | 7 | 31·0 | 21 | 1·94 | 18 | -1·17 | 0·29 | 27 | .. |
| Gore | .. | 240 | 56·2 | 40·1 | 48·2 | -3·1 | 71·5 | 8 | 32·0 | 13 | 1·86 | 18 | .. | 0·31 | 10 | 67·0 |
| Invercargill | .. | 32 | 54·2 | 39·8 | 47·0 | -3·5 | 69·0 | 8 | 30·0 | 21 | 4·62 | 21 | +0·56 | 1·00 | 9 | 53·5 |
| Invercargill South | .. | 8 | 54·4 | 41·8 | 48·1 | -2·9 | 68·0 | 7, 8 | 33·6 | 29 | 4·75 | 20 | (+0·58) | 1·05 | 9 | .. |

LATE RETURNS

| Dargaville, Jan., 1949.. | 3 | 73·3 | 59·1 | 66·2 | (+1·7) | 81·2 | 7 | 47·5 | 11 | 1·88 | 9 | (-2·22) | 0·57 | 14 | 211·4 |
| Dargaville, Feb., 1949.. | 3 | 75·4 | 54·3 | 64·8 | (-0·6) | 83·0 | 9 | 40·0 | 6 | 7·54 | 11 | (+4·04) | 3·42 | 7 | 144·6 |
| Dargaville, Mar., 1949.. | 3 | 74·7 | 53·5 | 64·1 | (+0·4) | 80·4 | 18 | 33·2 | 29 | 2·59 | 9 | (+0·05) | 1·35 | 7 | 163·0 |
| Lake Tekapo,Mar.,1949 | 2,350 | 66·1 | 40·6 | 53·4 | -0·6 | 79·8 | 2 | 26·0 | 26 | 2·51 | 7 | +0·88 | 1·15 | 19 | 187·7 |

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 APRIL, 1949

General.—April, though sunnier than normal, was rather unseasonable. Usually cold temperatures prevailed throughout the whole Dominion, due to a predominance of winds from a southerly quarter. In Canterbury the soil was too dry and hard for cultivation until the end of the month and autumn sowings of grain have been considerably delayed. Pasture growth was also much impeded in Canterbury, but elsewhere the prospects for winter fodder are good in spite of rather slow growth due to frequent frosts. It has been a difficult harvesting season in Southland.

Rainfall.—Rather more than half the Dominion had above the average amount of rain. In South Canterbury and from North Canterbury along the Kaikoura Coast there was a substantial excess, due to heavy rain between the 25th and 28th. Rainfall was deficient in the following districts : Hawkes Bay, Gisborne, Taranaki, Westland, Otago, and the eastern part of the Auckland and Coromandel Peninsulas.

Temperatures.—Mean temperatures were well below normal in all districts, departures averaging 3° to 4°, and about a degree less on the Canterbury plains. For the country as a whole it was the coldest April since 1940.

Sunshine.—Apart from a slight deficiency in Otago and Southland sunshine totals were above average. Over Auckland, Taranaki, Canterbury, and in Nelson and Blenheim the excess was equivalent to an hour or more per day.

Weather Sequence.—Cool, clear weather prevailed during the 2nd following the passage of a deep depression in the south. A vigorous cold front, accompanied by a narrow band of heavy rain, crossed the South Island on the 5th and the North Island on the 6th. The anticyclone following had separate centres west of Auckland and east of Wellington on the 7th, and when it began to move away to the east on the 9th, the next anticyclone was far away in the Australian Bight. North-westerlies prevailed as a weak cold front advanced on to the southern part of the South Island.

Unsettled weather with frequent rain affected the greater part of the Dominion for almost a week during the passage of the large and complex disturbance separating the two anticyclones. The Gisborne and Canterbury districts, however, had substantial rain on only one day of the period, the former district on the 11th, the latter on the 12th. With the formation of a low-pressure centre near North Cape on the 11th heavy rain spread over the Auckland Province. Moving eastwards, then southwards, this depression deepened considerably and later passed over the Chatham Islands early on the 13th. By that time showery southerlies had become general and some snow fell on the high country. Towards the end of the 13th winds turned south-westerly as another deep depression passed in the far south. The cold front associated with this latter depression was followed by two secondary cold fronts. Although few showers reached coastal districts between Otago Peninsula and East Cape, elsewhere they were frequent and heavy, while a thick coating of snow fell on the high country of both islands. Early on the 16th the last of this series of fronts moved off to the north-east.

Barometers rose steadily with the approach of an intense anticyclone bringing a spell of clear, frosty weather to the greater part of the Dominion. As the centre moved towards the South Island south-easterlies prevailed in the north, and cloudy, showery weather set in over the Gisborne District, later extending to eastern parts of Wellington and Marlborough. Morning fogs were common in this period.

The anticyclone still dominated the weather on the 21st although it had become much weaker and was beginning to move off to the east. Two wave depressions formed on a front which extended from New South Wales to just west of Southland.

Rain developed in the south early on the 22nd when the first wave ran rapidly away to the south. There was a general deterioration with the formation of the second wave near Lord Howe Island. It deepened rapidly, crossed the South Island on the morning of the 24th, and gradually filled up south-east of Southland. A secondary depression then formed west of Taranaki, moved eastwards across the North Island, turned southward, then south-westward towards the Kaikouras where it filled up. It produced widespread heavy rain over the Wellington and Marlborough provinces. New centres continued to form in this complex disturbance which by then covered the whole country. Not until the 27th did it begin to move off to the east.

Although there had been a brief clearance in Westland and Southland, a vigorous cold front on the 28th produced further rain and a sharp drop in temperature. South-easterlies prevailed as an intense anticyclone approached the South Island from the west. Fine weather spread gradually from the west and south, (except about Foveaux Strait), but did not extend as far as the east coast of the Auckland and Coromandel Peninsulas, or between Cook Strait and East Cape where cold showery conditions persisted until the end of the month.

(N.Z.M.O. 107.)
M. A. F. BARNETT, Director.

Notice Under the Regulations Act, 1936

NOTICE is hereby given in pursuance of the Regulations Act, 1936, of the making of regulations and Orders as under:

Copies can be purchased at the Government Printing and Stationery Office, Lambton Quay, Wellington. Prices for quantities supplied on application. Copies may be ordered by quoting serial number.

J. E. WILSON, Acting Government Printer.