DISAPPOINTING SUMMER

Evening Post, Volume XCVII, Issue 28, 1 February 1919, Page 5

DISAPPOINTING SUMMER

JANUARY'S WEATHER RECORD,

The general -public ie apt- in weather matters to prove an unreliable recorder, reversing the process of tne sundial and »ounting only the hours that are dull. The general impression is that there never has been such a summer as this tor wind, rain, and absence of sunshine. The nieEeorological record shows that this view, though commonly much exaggerated, has a basis of fact. December, January, and February, are the summer months of New Zealand. January's records bear out, to some extent, the general impression that the summer so far has been o disappointing one. So far as sunshine is concerned, 179^ hours <vere recorded in Wellington, in place of the usual 246 hours 25 minutes. The I'suiifall was 3.74 inches, which is nearly half an inch above the average. The heaviest fall occurred on 16th January, when 2.01 inches fell, principally during the night. The barometer was over l-10th below the average. The mean temperature in the shade was 60.3, which is normal, for though the maximum' was not up to the average, the minimum was above the mark. This is. accounted for by the high relative hu-" midity, which stood at 74 per cent, during the month. The mean minimum temperature on the grass was Sl.B. The earth temperatures were above the average. In wind the month had an average of 372 miles per day, and the record for former yeart (277 miles) was surpassed owing to the winds being fairly steady throughout the period. There were several squalls. Northerly winds greatly predominated.