23 OCTOBER
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE
1443

CLIMATOLOGICAL TABLE—Summary of the Records of Temperature, Rainfall, and Sunshine for September 1958—continued

LATE RETURNS

| Flock House, Bulls, August 1958 | 30 | 56·0 | 39·4 | 47·7 | +0·5 | 63·2 | 9 | 26·8 | 17 | 5·09 | 15 | +1·82 | 0·75 | 10 | .. |
| The Hermitage, July 1958 | 2,510 | 40·5 | .. | .. | .. | 45·0 | 17, 18 | .. | .. | 1·60 | 5 | −7·87 | 0·50 | 15, 20 | 94 |
| The Hermitage, Aug. 1958. | 2,510 | 46·5 | 29·4 | 38·0 | +0·0 | 58·0 | 13 | 18·0 | 1 | 7·90 | 11 | −4·53 | 2·40 | 9 | 99 |

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 SEPTEMBER 1958

General: Except in Northland and Gisborne it was a dry and very sunny month. The lack of strong winds and the many sunny days made conditions extremely pleasant. For Canterbury and Otago it was the fourth successive month of very low rainfall and some areas are threatened by drought. Many other districts would have appreciated more rain to promote spring growth. Weather conditions were, however, very favourable for the completion of the lambing season.

A small local tornado was reported in Parua Bay, near Russell, on the 20th.

Rainfall: Rainfall was appreciably below normal except in the Auckland Province. In most parts of the country the deficiency exceeded 50 per cent. It was exceptionally dry in Otago and South Canterbury, also in Manawatu and South Taranaki. In these areas rainfall was less than a quarter of the average value and many stations reported record low totals for September.

In parts of North Canterbury the total rainfall for July, August, and September was as low as 1–1½ in. Such dry conditions at this time of the year have not been experienced in this area since 1915.

An unusually heavy hailstorm was reported in Auckland on the 3rd.

Temperatures: Temperatures were mainly close to normal.

Some light snow was reported in parts of the South Island on the 23rd.

Frosts were much more numerous than usual and some unusually low temperatures were reported for September, especially on the 24th in Central Otago.

Sunshine: It was the sunniest September on record in most of the Wellington Province, Nelson, Marlborough, and Canterbury. Elsewhere totals were well above average, except in northern and eastern districts of the North Island and in Central Otago and Southland. The only areas with sunshine appreciably below normal were northern Northland and Gisborne.

The highest total recorded was 252 hours, at Nelson.

Weather Sequence: On the 1st an intense anticyclone was approaching across the Tasman while a deep depression lay far to the south-east. South-westerlies predominated, and showers were reported from coastal districts of the South Island. There was also some shower activity over the North Island where a small disturbance was passing.

Crossing the Dominion during the next two days, the anticyclone intensified still further and then became stationary to the east, where it continued to produce settled weather over the greater part of the country until the 12th. In Northland and Coromandel, however, this was a period of unsettled easterly weather, and some heavy falls of rain were recorded from the 8th to the 10th during the passage of a depression across the North Tasman Sea and past North Cape. Rain extended at that time also to the rest of the Auckland Province and to Hawke’s Bay.

On the 13th and 14th a depression from the Tasman Sea passed through Cook Strait, and the associated cold front moved over the country. Most districts received welcome rain, but dry conditions persisted in Canterbury, Otago, and Southland.

From the 15th to the 21st most of the country experienced another period of settled sunny weather under the influence of a slow-moving anticyclone. However, depressions over the North Tasman Sea again affected Northland, and from the 19th to the 21st the unsettled weather extended also to most of the Auckland and Hawke’s Bay Provinces with the passage of a small centre over Auckland.

For the next three days a deep depression passed far to the south and yet another small depression passed to the north. Light rain fell in most districts and temperatures became colder with snow in parts of Canterbury, Otago, and Southland. From the 25th to the 28th another anticyclone crossed the country, while a complex depression was developing over the Tasman Sea. The weather was generally fine except for rain in Fiordland and later also on the West Coast. On the last two days of the month the passage of a cold front over Southland brought considerable rain to western and far southern districts of the South Island. At the same time the main centre of the Tasman Sea depression moved close to Northland, causing rain there and in Coromandel.

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

M. A. F. BARNETT, Director.