WEATHER NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIII, Issue 4461, 1 March 1876, Page 3

WEATHER NOTES.

There haa . been- nothing in the nine days ending" the month of February which calls for any particular remark, except the welcome fall of rain during the night of the 23rd. The temperature, 31 indicated by all the instruments, has been a little lower, but the difference has been so small as scarcely to be perceptible, except as the result of observations. The barometer, standing on the morning of the 21st at 29-653, rose from thai point instead o£ continuing.to.fall steadily, and on the 22nd marked" 29'507; but fell again, to 29-556 on the 24th, then rose with extreme fapidily to 30-273 on the'27th, from wb'.ch point its movement nas been a little downward to 30*172 on the 29th. Tl'-ase figures give, a mean of 29'920, a little below the average of the middle of the month, but higher than that of its commencement. The shade thermometers have averaged respectively 67 - 5 for dry bulb and 61'9 for wee bulb, with extremes for the first-named instrument of 7S'7 on the 23rd and 55*9 on the 26th (for previous day and night). These averages give, by computation, a dew-point of 57-3, and a degree of humidity equal to 70% reckoning saturation as 100, The figures for the entire month, which will be found further on, are a little higher than these, shewing that the air has become drier towards its close, although the only heavy rainfall has been within this last period. The radiation thermometers, both for sun heat and for the night temperature on the grass, have ranged a little lower than they did earlier iu the month, averaging respectively 135 - 5 and 54 - l. The actual extreme readings have been 149-3 on the 21st, and 507 on the 29th, which are likewise the extreme read- I ings for the month. The rain on the night I of the 23rd (recorded on the 24th) amounted to "760, or just above three-quarters of an inch, being precisely two-thirds of the entire rainfall of the month. It must have been highly welcome to all, to replenish the exhausted tanks aud refresh the drooping plants. The dews have not been heavy, hotthere has been enough to raise a considerable quantity of clond in the morning sky; the average amount so moved has been SJ. The wind has continued very light; 24S miles per diem, or 10J per hour; the register only on one day marking so much as 368 miles, equivalent to 154 per hour, a very gentle breeze, amounting to little more than 1 on Admiral Fitzroy's scale of velocity. The month has been very dry, far more so than tbe average, and a little cooler than the mean resu't of previous years, but not noticeably so, except by instrument readings. The mean reading of the baromeier, which has not shewn any great fluctuations, aid only one rapid alteration of level, has been 29'905, a little in excess of the average of the 12 years, though lower than the February of 1875. Its extremes have been 30-275, on the 27th, and 29-586, on the 24th, as stated at the commencement of this article, giving an extreme range of *659, no very great difference perhaps, but occurring in a rather short period of time. The approximate mean temperature of the moath has been 68-1, while the 12 years' average is GB-G, the extremes 84'1, on the Bth, and 54 - 6 on the 6th. The day heat exceeded 80 '0 only on two other days, viz., the ISth and 20th, and,on only three other occasions did the night temperature fall below 56\ There lias been, however, an average range o» 17* between day and night, constituting a very healthy and pleasant difference. The wet bulb thermometer gives an approximate mean of 63'1, we obtain from Vic comp-ilson a dew point of 592, and a degree of humidity equivalent to 73.; rather more than last year, but less than the average of years. Tbe average amount of cloud has been 5 out of the 10 points. The extreme of sun heat recorded in 1875 was 154-2 ; in the preseni month it has not exceeded 139-3 ; but the lowest fall of the grass thermometer— sO - 7, on the 29th—is not to be compared with the extreme marked by the same instrument on the 20th February last, viz., 35-0. The total rainfall, 1-1.40 inches, spread over 8 days, of which, as p.-c----viously stated, two-thirds fell oa the night of the 23.d, is more than last year; bat little more than one-fourth of the 12 yeaiJ average facing on 10 or 11 days. The wind has been very light—2B6 miles per diem, or about 12 pei- hour; the maximum reading of the Tv bid-gauge, on the morning of the 13tK was 509 miles, equivalent to 21J per hour, or something between 1 and 2 on Admiral Fitzroy's scale—from 1 to 2 knots per hour.