WEATHER IN MARCH

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 82, 7 April 1933, Page 13

WEATHER IN MARCH

DOMINION SUMMARY

VERY DRY AND WARM

March was, in the main, a very dry, warm, and sunny month1, remarks Dr. E, Kidson, Government Meteorologist, in his survey of the Dominion's weather during March. The eastern districts ol the South Island havo suffered severe ly .from the prolonged shortage of rain, and tho situation was rendered all tin more unfavourable thcro owing to tin prevalence of hot, dry, north-wcstcrlj winds. In the North Island, conditions on the land are, on the whole, very good Feed' is abundant, and stock are- in good, condition. This is particularly tho caso'fin Taranaki, where pasture has ■never, before been so abundant at thib time' of year. The only large area re porting a definite shortage of feed is the Hauraki Plains. Though conditions are fair 011 the East Coast, rain is wanted thcro. Fruit and' other crops are fair to good. The white cabbage moth has been observed in large num bers in Hawke's Bay, and has caused some damage. In the South Island thcro is a serious feed and water shortage in practically all eastern districts, but especial];' Canterbury and Marlborough. Fruit and wheat crops appear to' bo fairly good, but fodder crops, such as turnips and rape, have been badly affected. Tur i>ips. have suffered, also, from depreda tions by' the' diamond-backed moth, while the graßS grub has caused consid erable loss of foed in some areas. The rainfall was irregular over the North Island, those districts which rcceivo most of their rain from the west having, in general, good-falls. In tho far north, also, rain was above normal in most cases. In eastern dis tricts there was a considerable defici eney. In the South Island, the totals •were considerably below average every whero except in parts of the south-west and extremo south. East of the ranges the average was considerably less than half that usually recorded in March. The mean temperature was consider ably abovo normal over the ' North Island, but in tho South Island, condi tions varied, some places being warmer and some cooler than usual. There were some very warm clays, particularly in Canterbury. , Christchureh, for-example, experienced its warmest weather foi this summer; tho maximum tempera turo exceeding- 87deg, I<\ on both tin 10th and. the 21st. Some light frosts occurred, moro especially in the South Island. The mountains aro unusually clear of snow. Almost all districts' experienced abun dant sunshine, though Napier had rather less than usual. Nelson regis tered 283 hours, Blenheim 269, and Lake Tekapo 255 hours. Depressions of the westerly typo passed fairly regularly during tho month, and wore tho principal influenco controlling the weather in the South Island. There has, .however, been continued activity in the Tropics, as many as four cyclones originating in the area north of New Caledonia. Towards tho end of the month, also, a tropical cyclone passed .-just south of Fiji, Tonga, and'tho Cook Islands. Westerly depressions passed on pho t 3rd, (ith "to Bth, 14th, 16th, 18th to 21st, 24th, and 27th. The most important was that of tho."lßth to 21st, which was complicated in form and consisted of several separate waves. Of tho latter, those passing on tho 18th and the 21st had considerable northward extensions, and were responsible for almost general rains. Many heavy falls oc-' currcd in connection1 with both, though; in most of Marlborough, Canterbury, and Otatjo, unfortunately, the rain was only light. On tho 21st, exceptionally heavy downpours occurred during a ■northerly gale in tho central and cen-tral-western portions of tho North Island, especially in tho Tongariro National Tnrk and parts of the Tararua range. At the Chateau Tongariro, 7.16 in were recorded, and at Mangahao 5.12 in, ivhilo there wero many falls between 3 and Sin. A sudden flood of unprecedented magnitude in tho upper tributaries of the Wang.inui River caused serious damage at Taumarunui. On the '11th' to 13th, one of tho tropical cyclones mentioned approached New Zealand as it. passed by to the northwards. ' Gales and heavy rains were caused; in-the northern and northeastern .areas of the Nortli Island. Thunderstorms wero widespread on the 21st, and some were reported also on tho 6th and the 18th.