THE WETTEST YEAR

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 150, 22 December 1938, Page 11

THE WETTEST YEAR

1938 IN THE RUNNING

CHANCES OF A RECORD

Because the sun is shining today it by -io means follows that "it ain't gonna rain no more." Indeed, there are thunderstorms about, and these are fre*quently productive of heavy rain. One more heavy downpour between now and the end of the month —and there are ten days to go—will quite likely make 1938 the wettest year ever experienced in Wellington. Making comparisons between rainfalls in different years is not .as easy as it .might seem. Official records during the last 80 years or so have not always been taken at the same place, and, as is well known, rainfalls vary materially, according to locality. Wellington rainfall records date back to the fifties. In 1863 they were kept by Mr. John Knowles, ahd he made the rainfall for that year the huge amount of 67.42 inches. These figures, corrected to Kelburn's altitude and locality, are reckoned to be equivalent to 59.9 inches. In 1892, when the official records were made on a site in Sydney Street, the rainfall was 67.68 inches. Corrected to correspond with Kelburn, where the Meteorological Office is now situated, this fall is equivalent to 54.2 inches. The year 1863 may therefore be taken to be Wellington's wettest year to date, with a rainfall of 59.9 inches. How does the present year compare w.ith this? It approaches it very closely, and with some further heavy rain before the end of December 1938 may perhaps beat all records. Even if there is a drought from now until the end of the month, which is very unlikely, 1938 will be the second wettest year on, record. To date at Kelburn 57.21 inches have fallen. With the record standing at 59-9 inches, it requires 2.69 inches more rain for 1938 to equal the record. One point of rain more than that, and the record is broken. KARORI RESERVOIR RECORDS. However, there is another, and in some ways more satisfactory, method of determining the relative wetness of the years. Rainfall records have been kept continually at the Karori Reservoir for the last 45 years. This, of course, does not take the records back through more than half Wellington's history, but with continuous records made at the same place comparisons are much easier than when records have been made at different observing stations. The heaviest annual rainfall recorded at the Karori Reservoir during the last 45 years was in 1928, when the total was 62.01 inches. This year's total at the same place already amounts to 61.22 inches, so less than an inch of more rain this year will entitle 1938 to consider itself the wettest year for the last 45 years. THE YEAR'S MONTHLY TOTALS. The rainfalls for each month this year are given below, together with the averages and departures from normal. Rainfall. Average. Departure. January 5.23 2.59 +2.34 February .... 6.32 2.75 +3.57 March 0.95 3,20 —2.25. April 7.12 3.64 +3.48 May 0.87 4.10 —3.23 Jurte -7.50 4.31 +3.19 July 4.62 4.85 —0.23 August 7.00 3.93 +3.07 September 5.94 3.20 +2.74 ■ October ...... 3.25 3.51 —0.26 November 1.99 2.99 —1.00 Dec: (to date) ...-.. 6.42 2.93 +3.49 Total (to date) slJl 42.30 +14.91

+2.74 —0.26

—1.00 + 3.49