278
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE
[No. 16.

CLIMATOLOGICAL TABLE—continued

Summary of the Records of Temperature, Rainfall, and Sunshine for January 1952—continued

LATE RETURNS

| Paerata, Dec., 1951 .. | 166 | 69·6 | 52·9 | 61·2 | —0·8 | 84·0 | 28 | 41·5 | 9 | 5·33 | 19 | +2·65 | 1·22 | 23 | .. |
| Molesworth, Dec., 1951 | 2,930 | 61·4 | 40·4 | 50·9 | —3·9 | 74·0 | 29, 31 | 31·0 | 7, 8 | 3·32 | 12 | (+1·00) | 0·89 | 22 | .. |
| Haast, Nov., 1951 .. | 15 | 57·5 | 45·6 | 51·6 | (—2·4) | 62·6 | 11 | 35·0 | 3 | 14·57 | 25 | .. | 1·90 | 7 | 141·6 |
| Adair, Dec., 1951 .. | 200 | 62·2 | 47·2 | 54·7 | (—2·5) | 78·0 | 20 | 38·3 | 8 | 4·93 | 16 | .. | 1·30 | 3 | .. |
| Waipiata, Dec., 1951 .. | 1,550 | 61·3 | 42·6 | 52·0 | —4·0 | 76·5 | 19 | 34·0 | 8 | 1·40 | 14 | —0·94 | 0·33 | 2 | 191·6 |

NOTE.—At stations where departures from normal are in parentheses, the temperature record has been maintained for less than ten years, the rainfall record for less than twenty years. Rainfall normals have been revised and now refer to the standard period 1921–1950. Where observations are not available for the whole period, or where the site of the raingauge has been changed, the normals are partly interpolated.

NOTES ON THE WEATHER FOR JANUARY 1952

General.—The changeable westerly weather which had persisted during the last three months of 1951 continued on through January. With the principal exception of a very few warm days east of the ranges, temperatures were generally cool. Though the season is backward, especially in Westland and Southland, some good crops of fruit and small seeds have been obtained elsewhere.

Strong gales towards the end of the month caused widespread but generally minor damage. A severe hurricane which moved south-eastwards across Fiji on the 28th fortunately kept well away from New Zealand. Smoke from bush fires in New South Wales reached this country on the 26th and in places almost obscured the sun. The risk of major forest fires in the North Island increased rapidly towards the end of the month.

Rainfall.—Rainfall was slightly above normal in the Westland, Southland, Taranaki, and Nelson Provinces, also locally about Gisborne and the Tararuas. A few places near Foveaux Strait had double the normal rainfall.

Districts which had less than half the normal rainfall included Northland, Bay of Plenty, and part of Central Otago.

Temperatures.—With the exception of Central Hawke’s Bay, mean temperatures were below normal, mostly by 1 to 2 degrees Fahrenheit, but by as much as 3 degrees in Westland, Taranaki, and Waikato.

On the afternoon of the 26th temperatures rose above 90° F. east of the ranges—in a few places exceeding 95° F. Such high temperatures are not common in New Zealand, especially in a cool summer, and there has been only one instance recorded of a thermometer reaching 100° F. when exposed under standard conditions at an official climatological station.

Sunshine.—The duration of bright sunshine was slightly above normal on the East Coast and about Northland and Nelson. Elsewhere there was a deficit which in most places was equivalent to about an hour a day.

Weather Sequence.—During the first quarter a series of westerly depressions moved rapidly across the Dominion, the centres passing south of the South Island. Barometric pressures remained relatively high to the north. In the Northland and Gisborne districts the weather was predominantly fine, but elsewhere it was very unsettled with frequent rain especially in and west of the ranges. East of the ranges, however, there were some good spells of fair, warm weather. The formation of a secondary depression to the east brought some heavy rain to South Canterbury on the 3rd.

A vigorous depression passing south-eastwards across the Dominion on the 6th was accompanied by general rain, but an anticyclone brought an improvement the following day. The latter was centred east of Hawke’s Bay on the 12th, when rain developed in the south with the arrival of a slow-moving trough from the west. The rain-area was soon transferred further north due to the formation of a low-pressure centre which later crossed the Auckland Province producing general rain over the North Island and the northern part of the South Island from the 13th to the 14th.

It began to rain again over the North Island on the 16th. An active cold front which had moved up from the south on the previous day was associated with the development of a shallow depression which crossed the centre of the North Island early on the 17th. For the next few days pressures remained relatively high over the North Island, while a series of deep eastward-moving depressions passed in the far south. There were periods of rain in Westland and Otago and occasional showers in other western districts—mainly on the 21st, but elsewhere it was fine and warm.

After the 21st, settled weather predominated over much of the country under the influence of a ridge of high pressure lying across the North Island, but barometers remained low in the south. When the centre of an exceptionally deep depression passed south of Campbell Island on the 26th, strong westerly gales were reported in many places south of Banks Peninsula. That afternoon temperatures exceeded 90° F. in eastern districts from Canterbury to Hawke’s Bay.

Very boisterous westerly weather continued on after the 26th. The centre of one very deep depression travelled rapidly south-eastwards across Otago on the night of the 27th, to be followed by another whose centre passed close to Southland some thirty hours later. Occasional heavy rain and strong westerly gales were reported southwards from Taranaki and Hawke’s Bay. Winds decreased a little in the North Island on the 31st, but remained strong to gale force in the far south where another westerly depression was passing.

M. A. F. BARNETT, Director.

(N.Z.M.O. 107)