PAST YEAR'S RAINFALL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15807, 2 January 1915, Page 7

PAST YEAR'S RAINFALL

REMARKABLY DRY YEAR.

AVERAGE OF SUNSHINE.

The total rainfall recorded at the Albert Park observatory during the past year by the curator of the Auckland Museum. Mr. T. F. Cheeseman, amounted to 28.46 in. With one exception— of the year 1885, when the small fall of 28.14 in was recoiJ-?d — is the lowest rainfall experienced in Auckland.

Other small falls were in 1886, when the rainfall amounted to 32.64 in, and in 1881, when the fall was 34.23 in. The heaviest annual rainfall ever recorded in Auckland was in 1907, when 54-48 in of rain fell during the year. This exceptional fall was followed very closely by a rainfall of 53.84 in in 1910. The average yearly rainfall in Auckland is 42.30 in, so that the past year's fall was 13.84 in below the average." ~'";'<- >

Tiie weather for the month of December was very' much the. same as that of the four previous months —cool, cloudy*, windy, ■ and unusually dry. The total rainfall for the month was 1.77 m, falling on 12 days. The only heavy fall was registered on the morning of December 14, and amounted to 1.1 The average fall for the month of December is 2.62 in, or very nearly lin in excess of the actual fall for last month. The mean temperature for December was 60.5 degrees, the average for the month being 62.4 degrees. The mean temperature for December of the previous year was 60.2, a shade lower than in 1914. In 1912 the mean temperature was 62.8 degrees. The sunshine for the past month was of 190h. 45m. duration, equivalent to 6h. 9m. per day. This is an improvement on Dt mber, 1915, when the total sunshine recorded was only 179h. 30m., or sh. 47m. per day; but it is much below that of December, 1912, when 233h. 44m. of sunshine was recorded, representing 7h. 44m. of sunshine per day. The following table shows the rainfall recorded during the past three years: —

1912. 1913. 1914. AverInches. Inches- Inches. Inches. January ... 1.75 2.64 1.32 2.77 February ... 3.02 1.38 166 3.18 March 6.12 2.34 2.32 2.73 April - 5.38 1-48 4.21 3.05 May 1.56 4.37 4.71 4.50 3une 5.46 1.47 3.32 4.53 Jul, . ... 4.97 4.37 4.08 4.95 •.-"rust ' ... 3.60 5.74 1.16 4.19 September ... 3.53 1.76 1.45 3.42 October ... 2.09 3.83 1.15 3.42 November ... 1.97 6.16 0.54 3.09 December ... 0.81 2.80 1.77 2.62 Total ... 43.06 38.20 28.46 42.30