Sunny, Dry September

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31809, 14 October 1968, Page 10

Sunny, Dry September

September was considerably drier and sunnier than normal, according to a report of meteorological observations taken at Lincoln College last month. For the first time in six months the hours of sunshine (198.6) rose above the average by 18 per cent and gave' the highest September value since 1958, when 211 hours were recorded.

The dry weather of August carried on into September and no appreciable rain occurred until September 22 when 0.34 in fell.

Rainfall of 1.26 in was below average for the month and this, coupled with the lowest relative humidities since 1955 and the highest wind run since 1961, brought a very high evaporation rate (3.91 in equal to the highest On September 26 one of the coldest periods of the winter occurred with 0.89 in of rain, hail and sleet, and snow down to low levels on the Port Hills on three mornings. In keeping with the rest of the- winter, ground frosts were frequent but slight (heaviest 21.6 degrees on September 31), occurring on 15 occasions. Frequency of air frost was normal and the lowest temperature recorded (29.9 degrees on September 19) was the highest minimum recorded since 1955.

No extreme maximum temperatures occurred, the highest being 67.9 degrees on September 13, a lower maximum than in August.

A drought was experienced in agriculture. Germination of plants without irrigation was slow and stock feed became very scarce. Conditions were the worst for many years as cold night temperatures and dry conditions prevented spring growth. In the horticultural field, low night temperatures and cold winds kept growth back, though lack of water was not so much a problem because of the use of irrigation.