24 FEB. THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE 287

CLIMATOLOGICAL TABLE—continued

Summary of the Records of Temperature, Rainfall, and Sunshine for January 1955—continued

• Observations for 23 days only.

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 JANUARY 1955

General.—January was a warm, dry month. For many districts, especially between Hamilton and Nelson and Blenheim, rainfall was lower than in any January since 1928. Good rains which had fallen shortly before the Christmas period greatly benefited pastures and crops. Harvesting and haymaking suffered few interruptions during January. Fruit crops were good, and stock were reported to be in good condition. However, by the end of the month the countryside was looking very parched.

Gales caused some damage in Otago and Canterbury on the 3rd.

Rainfall.—Rainfall was less than half the normal value over most of the country north of Westport and Timaru. The deficiency was greatest in Waikato, South Taranaki, Wellington Province from Rangitikei southward, and the Waimēa–Sounds–Wairau area of Nelson and Marlborough. In fact one station in the eastern part of the Sounds recorded no rain at all.

There was an appreciable surplus over most of Southland and in Central Otago.

A series of rather severe thunderstorms affected Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne, and the Bay of Plenty on the night of the 17th and the early morning of the 18th.

Temperatures.—Temperatures were mainly one degree to two degrees above normal. The highest departures of over two degrees were recorded about the Bay of Islands, in Central Otago, and in the Ashburton – Christchurch – Banks Peninsula area. In many districts the 18th to the 21st was a particularly warm period.

Sunshine.—Sunshine was mainly about normal. The Wairarapa and most of Canterbury from Christchurch southward were favoured with a surplus of twenty to forty hours. In the Waikato and King Country, and in parts of the Gisborne district, it was appreciably cloudier than usual, with a deficit exceeding twenty hours.

Weather Sequence.—With an anticyclone extending on to New Zealand from the North Tasman Sea the weather on the 1st was generally fair. Conditions deteriorated with the approach of a very deep depression from the South Tasman Sea, and as it passed close to the Southland coast on the 3rd there were strong gales in southern and eastern districts of the South Island. Considerable rain was reported on the West Coast and in the far south, and lighter falls in western districts of the North Island. There was further rain in western and far southern districts on the 4th and 5th as a deep depression passed to the south.

A large anticyclone covered New Zealand on the 6th, and fine sunny weather again prevailed. During the next two days there was a deterioration in Fjordland with the passage of another deep depression far to the south. From the 9th to the 11th, as a trough of low pressure passed slowly eastward, there were moderate falls in western and southern districts of the South Island; but nearly all parts of the country received some beneficial rain, Hawke’s Bay and the Wairarapa being the chief exceptions.

For the next five days pressures were comparatively high over New Zealand. With a depression near Norfolk Island, winds over the North Island were light easterly or southerly. The weather was mainly fair to cloudy, but there were scattered showers in Auckland Province and in Nelson and Marlborough. On the 17th and 18th pressures were still high, but severe thunderstorms were reported in Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne, and Bay of Plenty, and there was some rain in western and southern districts of the South Island with the passage of a weak trough.

On the 19th conditions remained unsettled in Fjordland and Westland with the approach of a trough of low pressure, which passed slowly north-eastward over the country during the next three days. It was preceded by rather warm weather, but brought welcome rain which was, however, considered insufficient in many North Island districts. With an anticyclone over the North Tasman Sea, the weather on the 23rd was mainly fair, but during the next three days there was light rain again in western and far southern districts of the South Island as a deep depression passed to the south. Some more general and very welcome rain accompanied a cold front which crossed the country on the 27th.

On the 28th and 29th an anticyclone again extended on to the country from the North Tasman Sea, and the weather was fair or fine apart from showers on the coast in the southern half of the South Island. On the last two days of the month a north-westerly airstream covered the country, while a trough of low pressure moved slowly over the South Island. There was heavy rain on the West Coast, and some light falls in eastern districts as far north as Timaru.

M. A. F. BARNETT, Director,

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