22 SEPT. THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE 1535

CLIMATOLOGICAL TABLE—continued

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

LATE RETURNS

| Wallaceville, July 1955 | 195 | 51.4 | 36.6 | 44.0 | (-0.2) | 57.3 | 11 | 25.6 | 9 | 7.57 | 19 | (+2.71) | 1.21 | 1 | 82.3 |
| Gore, July 1955 | 240 | 46.9 | 29.4 | 38.2 | (-1.5) | 56.5 | 10 | 20.5 | 5 | 2.21 | 9 | (+0.20) | 0.58 | 11 | 105.6 |

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 AUGUST 1955

General: August was a mild, cloudy month, and provided reasonably favourable conditions for lambing in most districts. By the end of the month pastures were showing some growth except in Southland, where the weather was still rather frosty.

On the first three days of the month south-easterly winds, which had been so frequent in July, again covered the North Island. As a result, on the 1st heavy rain in Gisborne and Hawke's Bay caused flooding in some areas, especially near Waipukurau.

On the evening of the 9th a number of thunderstorms were reported from Auckland and Taranaki Provinces, and at Auroa in South Taranaki six cows were killed by lightning. On the 10th no less than three small tornadoes were reported in New Plymouth, Waitara, and Whakatane respectively. All three caused some local damage.

Rainfall: Rainfall was above normal over the provinces of Hawke's Bay, Taranaki, Wellington, Marlborough, and Nelson; also in parts of the Canterbury high country. Greatest departures were recorded from Napier to Castlepoint and in north-western Nelson; in these areas rainfall was about twice the normal value. For the city of Gisborne, with a total of 7.5 in., it was the wettest August for 30 years.

It was drier than usual over the Auckland Peninsula, in most eastern districts of the South Island from Kaikoura to Invercargill, and also in parts of the high country between the Bay of Plenty and Gisborne. Banks Peninsula and parts of Central Otago received less than half the normal rainfall.

Temperatures: Over most of the country it was about two degrees warmer than usual. However, in coastal districts of Otago and Southland temperatures were only slightly above normal.

There has not been a warmer August in Christchurch in the last 50 years.

Sunshine: Sunshine was close to normal over most of the Auckland Province, including the Gisborne district, but elsewhere the weather was cloudier than usual. In South Canterbury, parts of Central Otago, and Nelson City, it was one of the dullest Augusts on record, with total sunshine 35–50 hours below normal.

Weather Sequence: At the beginning of the month depressions were centred over the eastern Tasman Sea and east of the North Island. From the 1st to the 3rd strong south-easterly winds brought heavy rain to Gisborne and Hawke's Bay, with some flooding. Other North Island districts and the east coast of the South Island received light rain.

With rising pressures the weather improved on the 4th, except on the West Coast, where showers developed with the approach of a trough of low pressure over the Tasman Sea. This trough crossed the country on the 5th and 6th, accompanied in most districts by rain, which was heavy in the Bay of Plenty. There followed six days of westerly weather, pressures remaining low to the south-west and south while a series of troughs passed across the country. It was a period of pleasant mild weather in eastern districts, but elsewhere conditions were unsettled with frequent rain. During the passage of a trough on the 9th and 10th there were thunderstorms in Taranaki and Auckland Provinces, and no less than three small tornadoes were reported.

On the 13th a complex depression moved on to the South Island from the west, and for the next four days the weather was generally unsettled, with heaviest falls mainly about central districts. Pressures remained low over the whole country, and on the 17th another depression passed in the far north. Meanwhile a deep depression had been developing to the south-east, and during the next two days there were frequent showers in the far south and in western districts north of Greymouth. Showers became less frequent on the 20th as a weak ridge of high pressure passed rapidly across the country.

Conditions deteriorated in northern and western districts of the South Island during the next two days with the approach of a trough from the west. From the 23rd to the 28th westerly conditions again predominated, with deep depressions passing to the south-west. Eastern districts again experienced a spell of fair weather, but elsewhere there were frequent periods of rain.

Barometers commenced to rise in the south on the 28th, and by the following day an extensive belt of high pressure covered the South Island and most of the Tasman Sea. At the same time a depression developed over Northland, and it later moved south-eastward. For the last three days of the month easterly winds covered the country from Christchurch northward, bringing moderate rain in eastern districts and about Cook Strait and lighter falls in other parts of the North Island.

M. A. F. BARNETT, Director.

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