27 MAY] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE 903

CLIMATOLOGICAL TABLE—continued

Summary of the Records of Temperature, Rainfall, and Sunshine for April 1954—continued

LATE RETURNS

| Waihi, March, 1954 | 354 | 71·7 | 57·4 | 64·6 | +2·7 | 78·8 | 2 | 48·0 | 31 | 13·57 | 16 | +6·37 | 3·86 | 2 | 157·2 |
| Appleby, Nelson, March 1954 | 57 | 71·3 | 54·5 | 62·9 | +2·7 | 80·8 | 2 | 46·1 | 31 | 5·36 | 11 | (+3·28) | 1·63 | 14 | .. |
| Tara Hills, Omarama, March 1954 | 1,600 | 68·1 | 45·1 | 56·6 | (+0·4) | 79·8 | 1 | 27·7 | 31 | 2·54 | 13 | (+0·72) | 0·47 | 7 | 172·7 |

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 1921–50. Where observations are not available for the whole period, or where the site of the rain-gauge has been changed, the normals are partly interpolated.

NOTES ON THE WEATHER FOR APRIL 1954

General.—In marked contrast to February and March, April 1954 was appreciably cooler than usual. It was a dry, sunny month for most of the South Island, but dull and wet in Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay. In most districts pasture growth was reasonably good, and stock were in satisfactory condition. In parts of Canterbury and Otago, however, farmers considered the weather to be too dry and frosty.

On the first three days of the month a depression centred near East Cape caused stormy conditions in many districts of the North Island. Gisborne and Northern Hawke’s Bay suffered from flooding, while in Taranaki considerable damage was done by strong south-easterly gales. The Gisborne district reported considerable flooding again on the 20th and 21st.

Rainfall.—Rainfall was appreciably below normal over most of the South Island, and also in western districts of the North Island from Levin to Te Kuiti. In a large area extending from Westland across the Alps to inland districts of Canterbury and North Otago, and also in the Manawatu, most stations had less than half their usual rainfall. There was a considerable surplus in eastern districts of the North Island from Castlepoint to Opotiki, and over a large part of the Gisborne district rainfall was three to four times the normal value.

For Gisborne Signal Station this was the wettest April in seventy-six years of records, with a total of 10·43 in. Some exceptionally high daily falls ranging from 6 to 13 in. were recorded to the west and south-west of the town on the 2nd and 3rd and in the East Cape area on the 20th.

Temperatures.—Temperatures were below normal over the whole country, except in coastal districts from Dunedin to Ashburton and in the far north where they were about normal. The departure exceeded 2° F. in most inland districts of the South Island; the comparatively low mean temperatures in this area were mainly due to an unusually large number of clear frosty nights.

Sunshine.—Over the South Island sunshine was above normal, except on the Kaikoura coast and parts of North Canterbury. Westland was specially favoured, with a surplus of an hour a day in places. There was also a small surplus over Taranaki, but over the remainder of the North Island sunshine was below normal. The deficiency exceeded an hour a day over most of Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay.

Weather Sequence.—A depression which had developed near East Cape at the end of March remained almost stationary for the first three days of April, while an anticyclone was centred far to the south. A strong south-easterly air stream covered the country north of Kaikoura. Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay received considerable rain, exceptionally heavy about and to the north of Wairoa, with some flooding. Taranaki was buffeted by strong gales, which damaged buildings, interrupted the power supply, and removed considerable quantities of topsoil.

Conditions improved rapidly in the North Island as the depression moved towards the Chatham Islands on the 4th, and an anticyclone advanced across the North Tasman Sea, to be centred over Northland on the 6th and 7th. However, there were a few showers in the far south during this period and conditions became increasingly unsettled on the West Coast with the approach of a trough of low pressure across the South Tasman Sea. This trough became stationary through Cook Strait on the 8th, and light rain developed in the provinces of Wellington and Taranaki. A depression then formed west of Northland, and as it moved eastward across the Auckland Province from the 9th to the 11th, rain gradually spread to the remainder of the North Island and also to Nelson and Marlborough. On the 12th a deep depression passed over Campbell Island, and a cold southerly change associated with it swept over southern districts, accompanied by showers. Conditions remained unsettled over the whole country with the formation of a depression over the North Island on the 13th, but there was a clearance over most of the South Island on the following day.

From the 15th to the 17th a very deep depression passed south of Southland, and rain affected all parts of the country except eastern districts from Oamaru to Gisborne. The trough associated with this depression became stationary to the north on the 18th. Another depression then developed west of Northland and moved slowly eastward, reaching East Cape on the 21st. Rain was restricted mainly to the North Island, and there were some considerable falls in the Auckland and Hawke’s Bay Provinces on the 20th, with flooding once more in parts of the Gisborne district.

There was a temporary improvement on the 22nd, but an exceptionally cold southerly change swept over the country on the 23rd, accompanied by light rain in most districts south of Auckland, and snow on the hills in the far south. Showers persisted in eastern districts and about Cook Strait on the 24th, but on the 25th the weather was mainly fair as an anticyclone moved over the country. Another trough of low pressure brought rain in most parts of the South Island on the 26th and 27th. Conditions improved again as another anticyclone moved on to Southland on the 28th, but temperatures remained cold. As the anticyclone moved away to the south-east on the 29th and 30th, showers developed from Wellington to East Cape under the influence of a large depression far to the north-east.

M. A. F. BARNETT, Director.

(N.Z. Met. S. Misc. Pub. 107)