VERY WARM MONTH

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 82, 7 April 1938, Page 11

VERY WARM MONTH

WEATHER IN MARCH

DOMINION SUMMARY

Summarising the weather throughout the Dominion as a whole, Dr. E. Kidson, Director of Meteorological Services, rennarks that last month was, with one possible exception, the warmest March experienced since the keeping of weatlfier records began in New Zealand 70 years ago. Rainfall was, in general, ipuch below average. Good soaking rairis are1 now needed but because of the! heavy rains in February, the high humidity of the atmosphere, and the absipce of wind, the shortage has not so Sar been felt greatly. North Aucklnd and much of the South Tarar^aki Bight area are very dry, states .Dr. Kidson, and in parts of Otago and Southland drought has prevailed fc«r some months. In most districts, however, there is abundance of pasture and stock and crops are doing very 'p/ell. Harvesting and farm work has be.-en carried out under good conditions. t,ambs, again, have failed to fatten satasfactorily. The white butterfly is re (ported to be plentiful m many districts. RAINFALL BELOW AVERAGE. The total rainfall was .much below average over practically the whole.of the North Island. Most, places had only about a qu;trter to half the usual fall and some €{yen less than 10 per cent. Te Awamutu recorded none at all. In the South Island, most of Nelson and the West Cjaast, parts of South Canterbury aiad Invercargill, recorded more than the average, but most of the remainder less. It was a dry month in O'tago. Frequently, such rain as fell amounted only to a light drizzle. • . Mean temperatures were everywhere much above ■ normal. In the North Island the •■' average departure was about four degrees and in the South Island abouit three degrees. The only March for over 70 years that could compare with last month for warmth was that.of .3.916, when the mean temperature 'appears to have been very much the same. There were few extreme temperatures, but it was almost continuously warna and minimum temperatures w*ere particularly high. A few light frosts occurred in. parts of the South Ifeland on two nights. The amoiant of bright. sunshine recorded was above average in most districts but considerably below normal in Canterbury and Westland. Napier had 243,1 hours and Tauranga 236.4. LITTUk STORM ACTIVITY. There w:ks extremely little storm activity ovetr the Dominion during the month. Theite was a prevalence of high pressure arid in a number of cases storms whiifch were well developed over the T?(sman Sea or to the north died out before reaching 'New Zealand. '• ■ " ■ From March 5 to March 6 a cyclone centre movcid south-eastward off the east coast o£ the Auckland Province. Southerly gples occurred in the faxnorth, but-there was not a great deal of rain. From Marbh 7 to March '9 westerly depressions paused rain mainly over the South Inland, with some heavy falls in Wetland and the far south. On March 7' there were brief north-, westerly gal(js in Cook Strait and some places to tHe southward.

Another series of irregular depressions passed'i during the period from March 18 to» 21, and were responsible for widespread rains, with heavy falls on the West Coast of the South Island.

Finally, fi;om March 27 to 28, a -depression with more energy than its predecessors crossed the South Island. There were some northerly gales on March 28 an d some heavy rain in parts of the Soutfc Island.

Much of ,the rain that fell during the month, jeven in western districts of the Souifli Island, did so in anticyclonic we:ather, and was of an irregular character. There was much cloudy weaijher, also, in some of the periods of high pressure, and fogs were of frequent occurrence.