20 NOVEMBER
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE
1685

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

LATE RETURNS

Waerenga-o-Kuri, Aug.,1958 | 1,130 | 53·7 | 41·0 | 47·4 | +0·9 | 61·6 | 21 | 28·2 | 19 | 2·19 | 20 | —3·14 | 0·38 | 12 | ..
Waerenge-o-Kuri, Sept.,1958 | 1,130 | 55·4 | 41·6 | 48·5 | —0·9 | 65·2 | 22 | 32·1 | 5 | 3·33 | 17 | —0·93 | 0·90 | 9 | ..
The Hermitage, Sept.,1958.. | 2,510 | 55·8 | 34·2 | 45·0 | +2·5 | 72·0 | 28 | 23·0 | 2 | 5·05 | 6 | —8·41 | 2·40 | 30 | 182
East Gore, Sept., 1958 .. | 245 | 59·2 | 36·5 | 47·8 | +0·5 | 73·0 | 28 | 28·0 | 26 | 2·01 | 8 | —0·45 | 0·92 | 29 | ..

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 OCTOBER 1958

General: October was exceptionally warm, especially in the North Island, and also cloudy and wet in Hawke’s Bay and most of the Auckland Province. The dry conditions which had prevailed in September over the greater part of the country persisted for about another week, but by the 9th welcome rains had brought relief. Generally it was a favourable month for growth and for stock. However, cold rains on the 12th and 13th caused some losses in newly shorn sheep in Hawke’s Bay and Wairarapa.

An unusual feature of the month was the predominance of winds from an easterly quarter over the North Island instead of the usual westerlies.

A north-westerly gale caused some damage in parts of Otago, mainly near Dunedin, on the 23rd.

Rainfall: Rainfall was well above average in Hawke’s Bay and in most of the Auckland Province. It was two to five times the usual value around Tokomaru Bay and around Waihi.

Elsewhere rainfall was mainly about three-quarters of the average value, but in Canterbury, on the West Coast, and in most of Central Otago it was close to normal.

Heavy and persistent rain affected some east coast areas of the North Island from the 12th to the 17th, causing flooding in the Wairoa River (Hawke’s Bay) and in the Waihou River at Paeroa. At Waitekauri, near Waihi, 29 inches of rain fell in five days, the 13th to the 17th, the total for the month amounting to nearly 40 inches.

Temperatures: Temperatures were well above average. Over most of the North Island it was the warmest October for at least 40 years, with departures of 3–4 degrees. In the South Island temperatures were mainly 2 degrees above normal.

During a cold spell from the 10th to the 14th, snow was reported on the central plateau of the North Island.

Sunshine: Sunshine was well below average over most of the country. From Hamilton through Waihi, Rotorua, and Bay of Plenty to Gisborne it was the cloudiest October on record. Rotorua received only 88 hours of sunshine.

The only station which was favoured with appreciably more sunshine than usual was Invercargill.

Weather Sequence: From the 1st to the 5th an intense anticyclone was centred to the east of the Chatham Islands, and a shallow depression over the North Tasman Sea moved slowly past North Cape. A north-easterly airstream covered most of the country, with warm temperatures, and mainly fair or fine weather. In Northland, however, this was a period of continuously unsettled weather, and rain was also reported at times from the Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, and the West Coast.

A trough of low pressure moved on to the South Island on the 6th, with some rain, and reached Cook Strait by the 8th. On the following day rain became general as a small depression in the trough moved eastwards across the southern half of the North Island. On the 10th and 11th the depression continued to move eastward, while an anticyclone developed over Campbell Island. Temperatures became much colder, and rain was confined mainly to central districts. By the 12th the depression to the east of the North Island had commenced to deepen, and another depression from the Tasman Sea was approaching North Cape. As the first depression moved away and the second depression moved slowly across Northland, moist winds from an easterly quarter covered most of the North Island for about a week, with heavy rain in eastern districts from Hawke’s Bay to Coromandel. Nearly all North Island districts received some rain, and North Canterbury was also affected at first.

A complete reversal of wind direction occurred over the Dominion in the following week, with conditions more typical of October. From the 19th to the 23rd very deep depressions were passing to the south, and a strong westerly airstream covered the country, with rain on the West Coast, in Taranaki, and in the far south. Parts of the Auckland and Wellington Provinces were also affected. On the 24th and 25th pressure was high to the east and a complex depression was situated over the Tasman Sea. The airstream was somewhat more north-westerly and temperatures became warmer, but the distribution of rainfall remained similar.

For the last six days of the month an anticyclone remained stationary to the east of the Chatham Islands, while the complex depression over the Tasman Sea moved slowly across the country. A moist northerly airstream brought rain to most districts, but very little was received in eastern areas of the South Island. Heaviest falls were reported from the Bay of Plenty, partly owing to a trough of low pressure which became stationary in this area on the last two days of the month.

M. A. F. BARNETT, Director,

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