HIGH RAINFALL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21506, 1 June 1933, Page 12

HIGH RAINFALL

CONDITIONS DURING MAY TOTAL OVER SIX INCHES MONTH OF WINTRY WEATHER May b generally regarded as the introduction to winter and the-month, just past was no exception to the rule. Rain fell on 23 days and the total was fcj.34in., according to figures supplied by the official Government observer, Mr. S. M. Yailop. The average rainfall for May is 4.53 m. The maximum fall was .79m., on May 5. The total rainfall for the previous month was 2.39 in. } and for March only .76in. The weather was very unsettled. Hail fell on two days and there was a heavy fog on three nights. Winds were variable, and reached gale force on three days. Lightning was recorded twice. There were 105 hours 6 minutes of sunshine during the month, compared with 125 hours 42 minutes in May, 1932, and 183 hours 18 minutes last April. The maximum sunshine in a day was 7 hours 36 minutes on May 20. The mean maximum temperature was 62.36deg., compared with 61.35deg. in May last year, and 68.70deg. in April this year. The extreme maximum temperature was 69.50deg., recorded on May 24, and the extreme minimum temperature was 43.50deg. on May 19. The mean minimum temperature was 52.7()deg. The mean barometric pressure for the month was 29.901, the maximum, 30.341, being recorded on May 20, and the minimum, 29.233, on May 29. The following table shows the rainfall during the first five months of the present year, compared with the corresponding period in the three preceding years:— 1933 1932 1031 1330 In. In. In. In. January . . 1.18 1.14 7..'58 8.40 February . 7.75 7.51 l.ijl S.gf> March. . . 0.7(5 3.<38 0.83 0.24 April' .. 2.33 4.05 S.6S 2.85 May . . 6.34 3.44 2.56 2.74 18.72 19.82 21.36 20.89