560

THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE

No. 26

CLIMATOLOGICAL TABLE—continued

Summary of the Records of Temperature, Rainfall, and Sunshine for March 1956—continued

†Observations for 25 days.

LATE RETURNS

| Station | Date | Max. | Min. | Mean | Abs. Max. | Date | Abs. Min. | Date | Tot. Rain | No. Days | Diff. From Norm. | Max. Fall | Date | Bright Sun. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| | | °F. | °F. | °F. | °F. | °F. | In. | In. | Hrs. |
| Waihi, Jan. 1956 | 354 | 74.1 | 59.8 | 67.0 | -12.5 | 86.8 | 21 | 51.3 | 17 | 4.81 | 17 | -0.67 | 1.32 | 8 | 139 |
| Waihi, Feb. 1956 | 354 | 74.0 | 57.1 | 65.6 | +1.2 | 79.8 | 1,14 | 46.6 | 1 | 6.40 | 11 | +0.91 | 3.67 | 4 | 165 |
| Dannevirke, Nov. 1955 | 685 | 67.7 | 46.5 | 57.1 | ... | 72.0 | 1 | 34.3 | 12 | 1.05 | 9 | -2.46 | 0.33 | 29 | ... |
| Dannevirke, Dec. 1955 | 685 | 70.5 | 50.7 | 60.6 | ... | 81.8 | 5 | 38.2 | 29 | 2.67 | 9 | -0.47 | 0.78 | 6 | ... |
| Dannevirke, Jan. 1956 | 685 | 74.5 | 57.7 | 66.1 | ... | 82.5 | 30 | 48.4 | 19 | 3.52 | 17 | +0.33 | 1.14 | 8 | ... |
| Dannevirke, Feb. 1956 | 685 | 71.7 | 53.7 | 62.7 | ... | 82.6 | 16 | 41.0 | 23 | 2.90 | 11 | +0.13 | 1.42 | 28 | ... |
| Balmoral, Jan. 1956 | 650 | 83.0 | 53.8 | 68.4 | +5.8 | 96.0 | 19 | 36.0 | 8 | 0.99 | 8 | -1.07 | 0.32 | 30 | ... |
| Balmoral, Feb. 1956 | 650 | 74.1 | 50.3 | 62.2 | +0.7 | 90.0 | 25 | 37.0 | 19 | 0.59 | 7 | -1.56 | 0.16 | 17 | ... |
| Milford Sound, Feb. 1956 | 20 | 69.5 | 51.2 | 60.4 | +3.7 | 79.4 | 2 | 44.1 | 14 | 7.20 | 7 | -16.38 | 2.45 | 26 | ... |

NOTE.—At stations where departures from normal have an asterisk, 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 MARCH 1956

For most of the country March was a dry month. In Otago and South Canterbury the continued dry weather has been causing farmers considerable anxiety and the prospects for winter feed are very poor. In some North Island districts growth has been checked by frosts.

Winds from a southerly quarter were rather more frequent than usual, and there were two or three brief spells of wintry weather.

On the 19th north-westerly gales buffeted Taranaki, Wanganui, and Hawke’s Bay.

Rainfall: Rainfall was less than half the normal value over the southern half of the South Island, over the greater part of the Auckland Province, and also in South Taranaki, Manawatu and southern Hawke’s Bay. The only parts of the country which were appreciably wetter than usual were North Canterbury and the south-western part of the Wellington Province.

For the seven-month period from September to March, parts of Central Otago and inland South Canterbury had the lowest rainfall in 60 years of record.

Temperatures: Mean temperatures were more than a degree below normal in eastern districts from East Cape to Wairarapa, and also in the King Country; elsewhere they were mainly close to normal.

Snow fell on the ranges of the South Island on the 13th and the 20th.

Sunshine: Sunshine was mainly above normal by a small amount, but the departure almost reached an hour a day on the West Coast and in the Auckland-Hamilton area.

Weather Sequence: For the first two days of the month an anti-cyclone covered the country and the weather was fair. From the 3rd to the 6th many districts received some light rain, at first from a weak trough which became almost stationary through Cook Strait, and later as a result of a southerly change when pressures rose sharply to the south. For the next two days an anticyclone centred to the east brought fair weather again.

A tropical cyclone which had affected Fiji on the 6th moved southward and by the 9th was centred 250 miles north-east of North Cape. For two days Northland was buffeted by strong easterly winds, and most of the Auckland Province received light rain. At the same time a slow-moving trough affected southern and western districts of the South Island. The tropical cyclone soon lost intensity, and on the 11th and 12th fair weather prevailed as a belt of high pressure extended across the country. During the next three days another southerly change brought light rain and much cooler temperatures to eastern districts from Christchurch northward.

On the 16th and 17th an anticyclone was centred over the North Island, but there was rain on the West Coast associated with the passage of a depression far to the south. On the next day a trough moved on to the South Island, and a depression over the Tasman Sea soon moved rapidly through Cook Strait. Most areas received welcome rain, and there were some substantial falls in central districts. The 20th saw yet another southerly change with further rain in eastern districts, rather cold temperatures, and snow on the ranges of the South Island. For the next three days, however, fair weather prevailed as an anticyclone moved across the country.

The weather deteriorated on the West Coast during the 24th with the passage of a depression to the south-west of Southland. On the 25th and 26th the associated trough of low pressure brought a belt of rain from Canterbury northward. For the next four days a south-westerly airstream covered New Zealand, with showers at times in the North Island and on the West Coast. On the last day of the month a large anticyclone was centred near Wellington, and the weather was fine apart from some light rain in parts of the Auckland Province.

R. G. SIMMERS, Acting Director.

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