WEATHER IN FEBRUARY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19264, 1 March 1926, Page 10

WEATHER IN FEBRUARY

UNUSUALLY COOL MONTH.

CONDITIONS AT WEEK-END

A WELCOME FALL OF RAIN

: Tho weather in Auckland during the week-end was very unsettled and at times wet. Rain began .to fall shortly after seven o'clock on Saturday morning and culminated in a heavy downpour at about eleven o'clock. Tho conditions improved after mid-day but continued unsettled and athletic sports were' interrupted in the afternoon by occasional light showers. Tho evening was fine but toward midnight there was a recurrence of rain, Showers fell afterwards at frequent intervals and at four o'clock yesterday morning the rain set in and fell steadily for about six hours. About ten o'clock the weather began to improve and the afternoon was fine and sunny.' The ideal conditions attracted large numbers •of people out of doors.

The rainfall for the 48 hours ending at midnight, as registered by the Herald gauge was 1.05 in The. barometer, after falling from midday on Friday, registered 29.60 in. yesterday morning. It rose afterwards and the reading last night was 29.S0in. . Tho weather during the whole of last month was unusually cool for February, according to observations taken at Albert Park by Captain A. Davies, tho official observer.

• The mean maximum temperature for the month was 69 degrees and the mean minimum 57 degrees. The approximate mean temperature was 62.9 degrees, with" a mean daily range of 12 degrees.'The maximum temperature during the month was 76 degrees on February 20 and 21. The lowest reading was 49 degrees on Feb\ ruary 6.

In spite of the dull cloudy conditions which prevailed the sun shone for a period •every day of the month. The total sunshine recorded was 21& hours 15 minutes, and the maximum sunshine recorded in one day was 12 hours on February 13 and 26.

< But for the heavy rain during the weekend the month would have been an exceptionally dry one. The total fall for the month -up to 9 a.m. yesterday, a day short of the official month, was 2.56 m., being .40in. below the average for February. , Rain fell on 16 days and the heaviest fall "was..B4in. for the 24 hours ending at 9 ■ o'clock yesterday morning. February is usually the driest mouth of the year. The highest February records were those of 14.15 in. in 1869 and 12.67 in. in 1917.

The following -stable shows the rainfall for the first two months of the year and the three preceding years :■ — 1926 1925.' 1924. 1923. January . . 392 2.12 5.85 6.44 February > . 2.56 3.37 4.77 3.85 6.48 ,5.49 8.62 10.29 RAIN AT OPOTIKI. A WELCOME DOWNPOUR. [ill' TELEGRAPH, OWN CORRESPONDENT. ] OPOTIKI, Sunday. After a long spell of dry weather Welcome rain fell to-day. It will,, be much appreciated by the farmers as the pastures have: been getting bare, resulting in a drop, in the butter-fat.