RIVERLEA.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 10 November 1925, Page 4

RIVERLEA.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) METEOROLOGICAL. The month of October, though broken and showery and showing nineteen wet days, was below the average for the month in precipitation. Tne weather also showed a very welcome improvement in temperature, and was in all ways much better than September. As a result of this there was rapid improvement in the pastures and feed came away readily, causing great increase in the milk supply, as was to be seen by the fact that whereas at the beginning of the month the output of cheese at the local factory was twelve cheeses per day short of last year, at the end of the month it was only four cheeses per day bejvind, and last year was a record one. Until the 25th rain fell on all but six days, only the sth, 7th, 12th, 15th, 19th and 20th being rainless. On the 25th the wind veez-ed to the south-east, and the weather turned diy and remained so until November 4. For the most part the winds during the month were light to fresh, but moderate gales were recorded on the 15th from the north, and- on the 27th fz’om the south-east, whilst a gale from the north-west was recorded on the 14th. Westerly to north--westerly winds prevailed over the greater portion of the month, and direction recorded was as follows: North-west, 7 days; west, 7 days; south-east, 7 days; north, 3 days; north-east, 2 days; south, -2 days; east 1 day; south-west, 1 day, whilst one day, the 29th, was calm at 9 a.m. Nine days were fine, and of these three were cloudless, one being also calm. Seven days were fair. The remaining fifteen were cloudy to overcast. Two frosts were recorded, one on the 29th and again on the 30th, and this is at least six weeks later than usual here. The thermometer ranged from 49 degrees Fabr. on the 27th, when there was a biting moderate gale from the south-east, to 62 degrees on the 12th, 15th, 17th, 21st, and 31st, and the mean "temperature for the month was 55.5 degrees Fahr., an improvement of just eight degrees over the previous month. The barometer ranged from 28.90 on the 2nd to 29.85 on the 29th and 30th, the mean being 29.375, against 29.075 for September. Rain fell on 19 days to a total precipitation of 4.79 inches. The maximum was recorded on the 3rd, when 1.25 inches fell, and the minimum- was 0.03 inches on the 21st. Only one other day recorded half an inch or more, namely, the 16th,- when just half an inch fell. The total' was below the average for October byi .665 inches, the average being 5.455 inches. The wettest October recorded hez*© was that of 1913, when 7.66 inches fell on 18 days, and the driest was in 1914, when ohly 3.43 inches fell on 12 days. The total rainfall for the year to date is 50.80 inches, which has fallen on 174 days. This is a little below the average for the first ten months,' namely, 51.32 inches.