CLIMATOLOGICAL TABLE—continued
Summary of the Records of Temperature, Rainfall, and Sunshine for September 1954—continued

• Observations for 22 days only.

LATE RETURNS

| Cannock, Martinborough, August, 1954 | 770 | 52·9 38·4 45·6 | ... 67·0 24 26·0 10 | 4·48 16 ... 1·55 14 | |
| Adair, August, 1954 | 200 | 52·9 35·9 44·4 | (+0·5) 65·1 25 29·9 9,10 | 3·45 9 (+1·83) 1·60 14 | |
| Tara Hills, July, 1954 | 1,600 | 44·0 26·0 35·0 | (–0·3) 56·7 1 18·3 8,29 | 1·15 8 (–0·08) 0·48 20 | 143·9 |
| Tara Hills, August, 1954 | 1,600 | 48·6 27·2 37·9 | (–1·1) 57·6 26 18·1 9 | 1·86 10 (–0·53) 0·49 10 | 173·3 |

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 SEPTEMBER 1954

General.—It was a sunny month with an absence of strong winds, and one of the driest Septembers on record. Barometers were unusually high for the time of the year, and in many districts there was little or no rain after the 7th. Following the dull, wet weather of August, the drier conditions were considered to be generally beneficial for farmers at first, but towards the end of the month more rain would have been welcomed in some districts.

A shallow depression over Northland caused serious local flooding in parts of that district on the 12th and 13th. Some townships were isolated by flood waters several feet deep.

Rainfall.—Rainfall was less than half the normal value over almost the whole of the South Island, and also in western districts of the North Island from Waikato Heads to Otaki. The only parts of the country where there was no appreciable deficiency were Northland, the Hauraki Plains, Gisborne, and the southern part of the Wellington Province.

The greatest deficiency was in an area extending north-eastward from Lake Wanaka over the high country of North Otago and Canterbury as far as the Rakaia River, and including also the plains and coast of South Canterbury. Over most of this area rainfall was less than a third of an inch. For Timaru, with a total of 0·14 in., it was the driest September in fifty-eight years of record.

For most of the country rain was less frequent than usual; at Nelson and Timaru rain fell on only two days during the month.

Temperatures.—The cold spell at the end of August continued into the first days of September, with snow down to 2,000 ft. as far north as Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay.

Mean temperatures, however, were mainly close to normal. Coastal Otago was nearly two degrees cooler than usual, while the King Country and parts of Central Otago were about a degree warmer than usual.

Sunshine.—The duration of bright sunshine was better than average, except north of Hamilton and in Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, and the Manawatu. The surplus exceeded an hour a day in the Rotorua-Taupo area, in Wellington City, and over almost the whole of the South Island. The West Coast was specially favoured, and Buller and North Westland totals were among the highest in the country. Westport, with a total of 238 hours, had its sunniest September in eighteen years of record. The total of 223 hours recorded at Hanmer in North Canterbury was also a record for September since observations commenced there in 1910.

Weather Sequence.—At the beginning of the month, with a depression near the Chatham Islands moving away and an intense anticyclone approaching from the west, a southerly airstream covered the country. Cold showery weather, which had commenced at the end of August, persisted in eastern districts on the 1st and 2nd, with snow well down on the ranges in Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne districts. Taranaki reported south-easterly gales.

By the 3rd the centre of the anticyclone was over Northland, and the weather was generally fine. However, as a deep depression passed to the south and the associated trough of low pressure crossed the country on the 4th and 5th, light rain was reported in western districts. A deep depression over the North Tasman Sea next moved across the central provinces. Rain became general and rather heavy from Christchurch northward on the 6th and 7th, while there were also scattered light falls in the south. Gales caused some damage in the Wanganui district.

During the next two days the passage of a depression far to the south brought light rain to the western and southern coasts of the South Island, but elsewhere fair weather prevailed. On the 10th there was an improvement in Westland and Southland under the influence of an extensive belt of high pressure covering the Tasman Sea and most of New Zealand and extending far to the east. However, a deterioration occurred in the far north as a shallow depression developed near North Cape and moved slowly south-eastward during the next three days. Rain affected most of Auckland Province, with some heavy falls on the 12th and 13th in Northland, where some centres were isolated by floodwaters several feet deep.

On the 14th the depression moved away eastward, and the weather cleared in the north. However, the passage of a weak trough caused some further showers from Wellington to East Cape. A large anticyclone moved on to the country on the 15th, and most districts basked in sunshine for the next three days. However, the disturbance was still active to the east of the North Island, and there were further showers in Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne, extending over most of Auckland Province on the 18th and 19th.

Pressure still remained comparatively high over New Zealand, but by the 19th rain was falling over Westland with the approach of a weak trough. As it crossed the country during the next two days western Southland and parts of Wellington Province were also affected, while there were some light showers in coastal districts elsewhere. By the 22nd another anticyclone extended over New Zealand from the Tasman Sea, but the weather remained unsettled for several days on the West Coast, especially in the south. From the 25th to the 27th another weak trough brought welcome rain to Southland and Otago. For the last three days of the month the weather was generally fine, due to the influence of a ridge of high pressure from a large anticyclone over the Tasman Sea.

M. A. F. BARNETT, Director.

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