New Zealand Gazette – 1986 – No. 67

Page 1942

✨ Weather Report



THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE

No. 67

THE WEATHER IN NEW ZEALAND IN FEBRUARY 1986

General

February was slightly warmer and wetter than usual in most places.

South-westerlies prevailed over the North Island with more strong winds than usual, while north-westerlies prevailed over the southern part of the South Island. The frequency of south-easterlies over the South Island was the highest on record and accounted for some of the record high February rainfalls in Marlborough, Canterbury, and Otago. There was a lack of strong winds over the South Island.

Mean sea level pressures were three to four hectopascals below average over the whole of New Zealand.

Farmers reported plenty of grass growth, and stock in good condition. Flystrike was a problem again this month in some parts of Hawkes Bay, and haymaking was often interrupted by rainfall in Southland.

Rainfall

The only regions where rainfall was below normal this month were Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, Fiordland and South Westland.

The total rainfall for the month at East Cape was only 37 percent of normal.

Rainfall was well above average in Wellington and the Manawatu, Marlborough, South Canterbury and Central Otago, where it ranged from 200 to 300 percent of normal. Dunedin Airport and Oamaru Airport recorded 354 and 391 percent of normal rainfall respectively.

Some record or near record rainfalls for February resulted at:

Station Amount (mm) Year records began Rank
Blenheim Airport 126 1941 Highest on record
Kaikoura 132 1950 Second highest on record
Moutere Hills 102 1963 Second highest on record
Timaru Airport 131 1957 Highest on record
Oamaru Airport 126 1941 Third highest on record
Roxburgh 93 1948 Highest on record
Dunedin Airport 143 1963 Highest on record

Temperatures

Mean daily temperatures were near or slightly above average in most regions. In the North Island mean daily temperatures were about 1°C above average in the Manawatu-Wellington and the Wairarapa. The mean daily minimum temperature of 14.6°C at Waingawa was almost 4°C above the normal, being the second highest there on record for February since records began in 1906.

Over the South Island mean daily temperatures were almost 1°C below average in inland South Canterbury and Central Otago. In some parts of inland South Canterbury the mean daily maximum temperature was up to 2°C below average.

Sunshine

Over the whole of the country hours of bright sunshine were generally near normal. In parts of Canterbury and Westland sunshine was 10 percent above average, while Manawatu had one of the lowest sunshine totals for February since records began. There was also less sunshine than usual in Otago.

Some of the greatest departures from normal this month were:

Station Start of record Amount (hours) Departure from Normal (hours) Rank
Levin 1956 147 -41 Least on record
Dunedin Airport 1963 140 -25


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🎓 Climatological Table for February 1986 (continued from previous page)

🎓 Education, Culture & Science
Climatology, Weather, Temperature, Rainfall, Sunshine, February 1986, Statistics