25 Nov.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE 1889

CLIMATOLOGICAL TABLE—continued

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

• Manorburn Dam observations for 25 days only.

LATE RETURNS

| Cannock, September, 1954 | 770 | 57·6 | 41·5 | 49·6 | ... | 66·0 | 24 | 30·0 | 22 | 1·54 | 11 | ... | 0·47 | 2 | ... |
| Appleby, Nelson, September, 1954 | 57 | 60·6 | 40·3 | 50·4 | +0·1 | 72·4 | 24 | 31·0 | 3 | 1·92 | 2 | (-1·23) | 1·60 | 6 | ... |
| Milford Sound, September, 1954 | 20 | 54·8 | 39·2 | 47·0 | +0·6 | 59·4 | 15 | 31·3 | 3 | 12·57 | 15 | -7·23 | 4·56 | 25 | ... |
| Gore, September, 1954 | 240 | 58·5 | 36·0 | 47·2 | (-0·4) | 68·0 | 19, 25 | 28·0 | 3 | 1·37 | 10 | (-1·09) | 0·57 | 25 | 179·6 |

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 1921–50. 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 OCTOBER 1954

General.—Like the previous month, October was sunny and unusually dry; in fact, it was the driest October since 1937 and one of the driest on record. In almost every part of the country farmers were finding growth slow, and in some districts pastures were starting to turn yellow.

Late frosts caused damage at times to vegetables and fruit. The most serious damage was in Hawke’s Bay, where a severe frost on the 16th was reported to have spoilt a considerable part of the fruit crop.

On the 14th a local whirlwind at Waitara East in North Taranaki lifted a cottage into the air bodily and wrecked several sheds.

Rainfall.—Over the greater part of the country rainfall was less than half the normal value. Greatest deficiencies were experienced in Marlborough and the Waimea Valley of Nelson and in the Christchurch-Banks Peninsula area. In these districts rainfall ranged from a tenth to a quarter of the normal value, and several stations reported their lowest October rainfall in over thirty years of records. The period extending from about the middle of September to the middle of October was particularly dry.

The only parts of the country where there was no appreciable deficiency were the Southland coast and about the southern part of the Alps.

There were thunderstorms on the 13th in many districts, especially in Taranaki and Auckland Provinces.

Temperatures.—Average temperatures were somewhat below normal in the North Island and in western and northern districts of the South Island. The departures exceeded two degrees over most of the Bay of Plenty and Gisborne. Over the remainder of the South Island temperatures were a little warmer than usual.

A south-westerly change which swept over the country on the 13th brought a cold spell in most districts. Snow fell in many parts of Otago and Southland and on the high country of the North Island, and as the weather cleared there were many sharp frosts from the 14th to the 16th. Another fall of snow occurred in some inland districts of the South Island on the 24th.

Sunshine.—Except in Northland, Westland, and Southland, sunshine was appreciably above normal over the whole country. The surplus exceeded two hours a day over most of the North Island from Tauranga southward and also in parts of Canterbury. For Palmerston North with a total of 236 hours and for Blenheim with 278 hours it was the sunniest October in over twenty-five years of records.

Weather Sequence.—For the first two days of the month a large anticyclone which had been over the Tasman Sea at the end of September moved across the country, and the weather was mainly fair. On the 3rd and 4th a weak trough brought some rain to the western and southern coasts of the South Island and the central plateau of the North Island, while a depression to the north caused some light falls in Northland. South-westerly gales were reported from coastal districts of Southland and Otago. For the next three days another anticyclone covered most of New Zealand, but a freshening of westerly winds in the south caused rain on the West Coast; some light rain was also reported from the Gisborne district on the 6th as the northern depression moved away south-eastwards.

By the 8th the anticyclone had moved off to the east, and for five days westerly conditions prevailed. Rain continued on the West Coast and extended at times to the Southland and Otago coasts and to Taranaki and most of Auckland Province. On the 12th the greater part of Wellington Province also received welcome rain. A cold south-westerly change which swept over the country on the 13th brought further rain to most districts, especially in the North Island, but few east coast areas benefited. Many thunder-storms were reported, especially from Taranaki and Auckland Provinces. Snow fell to low levels in parts of Otago and Southland, and also on the North Island high country. Showers persisted at first, but conditions improved from the south-west with the advance of an anticyclone on to the country from the 14th to the 16th. As the weather cleared many districts reported sharp frosts, resulting in serious damage to fruit crops in Hawke’s Bay. Fair weather prevailed generally by the 16th and continued for three more days during the eastward movement of the anticyclone.