2016
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE
No. 68

CLIMATOLOGICAL TABLE—Summary of the Records of Temperature, Rainfall, and Sunshine for September 1970—continued

LATE RETURNS

| Takatu, Matakana, August 1970 | 230 | 59.9 | 48.8 | 54.4 | +1.8 | 65.2 | 4 | 38.3 | 25 | 9.96 | 15 | +5.1 | 3.48 | 13 | .. |
| Mohaka Forest, August 1970 | 938 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| Christchurch, August 1970 | 22 | 58.3 | 40.2 | 49.2 | +4.5 | 73.8 | 30 | 27.2 | 25 | 1.64 | 7 | —0.7 | 0.52 | 21 | .. |
| Moa Creek, August 1970 .. | 1,400 | 53.4 | 31.0 | 42.2 | +4.9 | 64.3 | 29 | 17.0 | 26 | 1.58 | 10 | +0.9 | 0.40 | 30 | .. |

ERRATUM—

| The Hermitage, Mt Cook, August 1970 | 2,500 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 27.08 | .. | +11.7 | .. | .. | .. |
| Gisborne Aerodrome, August 1970 | 17 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 131 |

The “normal” refers to the present site of the instruments. The standard periods for normals are: for temperature 1931–60, for rainfall 1921–50, and for sunshine 1935–60. No normals are available for stations with only short records.

The sunshine recorder is not located at the station but is in the near vicinity.

NOTES ON THE WEATHER FOR SEPTEMBER 1970

General—September was marked by an unusually high frequency of north-westerly winds. It was the wettest September over the country as a whole since 1943 and also stormy and very cloudy. Pasture growth was good early in the month but in many districts, especially in the west, conditions were too wet by the end of the month. A particularly cold southerly change on the 24th brought snow to many inland districts of the South Island, causing considerable losses of lambs. Severe frosts which followed in the south on the 25th and 26th proved disastrous to the Central Otago fruit crop.

Unusually strong north-westerly gales buffeted Central Otago and the Canterbury high country on the 10th, reaching an average wind speed over 10 minutes at Mount John Observatory (Lake Tekapo) of 134 miles per hour. Strong north-westerly gales also buffeted Wellington and Hawke’s Bay on the 24th.

Small local tornadoes were reported in Mangere (Auckland) on the 11th and in New Plymouth on the 17th.

Rainfall—Rainfall was above normal over nearly the whole country. It was more than double the normal value over the greater part of the South Island, in an area extending eastward from Nelson and the West Coast, including the Marlborough Sounds, the high country, and Central Otago. In parts of the Southern Lakes district it was more than four times the normal value. In the North Island it was more than double the normal from Waitomo and Taranaki to eastern Bay of Plenty, and also in Manawatu.

Flooding was reported on the West Coast, in Nelson, and in North Otago, after considerable rain from the 14th to the 17th. The 29th and 30th brought falls of 3–4 in. in Bay of Plenty, Taupo, and Waikato, causing flooding around Whakatane and later in the Waipa and lower Waikato rivers.

Temperatures—Temperatures were warmer than normal by 1–3 degrees over the North Island and in most of Marlborough and Canterbury. They were cooler than normal by 1–2 degrees in Otago, Southland, and Fiordland.

At Mid Dome, in western Southland, the thermometer dropped to 11° F on the 25th, the lowest temperature ever recorded in New Zealand in September below an altitude of about 3,000 ft. On the following day the minimum temperature there was still only 13° F.

Sunshine—Sunshine was below normal over the whole country, mainly by 30–60 hours. Waihi had its cloudiest September in 43 years of observation, with only 84 hours of sunshine.

Weather Sequence—At the beginning of September the slow-moving trough which had caused excessive rain in Nelson and in the Alps and on the West Coast at the end of August, was still active but weakening, and moving northward over the North Island. On the 1st rain affected the southern half of the North Island and also the greater part of the South Island but on the two following days it affected mainly northern and eastern districts of the North Island and was only light. On the 4th the weather was fine, under the influence of an anticyclone centred to the east.