WEATHER SUMMARY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3957, 14 January 1930, Page 5

WEATHER SUMMARY.

CONDITIONS DURING DECEMBER. THE OFFICIAL REPORT. WELLINGTON, January 7. The following notes on the weather for the month of December, 1929, ar<s..pplied by the Director of the Meteorological Department :— December was a wet, stormy ~~mth, although the eastern districts experienced some hot, sultry days. There was less than the average amount of sunshine, and the temperatures were considerably below normal. The only considerable areas where the rainfall was below the December average were m he northern half of the Auckland Peninsula in the eastern portions of the North Island from Hawkes’ Bay to East Cape over all th? western districts a.id in the high country of the interior the precipitation was heavily in excess of the normal. Most of the stormy weather was associated " ith the passage of cyclone centres across the South Island.

Gales from between the north and west we’-c experienced to the north of the centres, while to the south of them easterly or south-easterly winds prevailed. It was these latter which accounted to a large extent for the high rainfalls in Canterbury and Otago. Thunderstorms have been rather frequent, and in many cases severe. A large proportion of them were accompanied by showers of hail. A considerable amount of fog was reported from both the northern and southern extremities of the Dominion. Although rather late for some crops, especially oats, the rains were of very great benefit to the farmers in Canterbury and Otago. Ihe prospects,-especially for wheat and root crops, have improved very much, and feed is plentiful. The abnormal number of wet days and the heavy rain proved adverse to haymaking over a large part of the country, and shearing has been retarded. The weather has been too humid, also, for fodder to be in its most nourishing condition, but, on the whole, stocks and crops are in a satisfactory state, and the season is a good one. A spell of fine and dry weather would now be advantageous.

As indicated above the unusual frequency of cyclonic depressions which has characterised the past two years was fully maintained in December. Their movement was very rapid, and this was on the whole fortunate, since, although there were numbers of cases of rivers reaching the flood stage they usually receded just when serious floods appeared to be imminent, and the actual damage was slight. The first of the cyclones referred to crossed the south-western extremity of the Dominion on the evening of the 4th to the sth, and caused boisterous weather. The rain was widespread with many heavy falls, especially from Taranaki and Wellington southwards. On the sth there were many thunderstorms at Edendale, in Southland, where damage was dene by a severe hailstorm. From the Gth to the 9th weather "of a westerly type prevailed. Squally winds blew from some westerly quarter, frequently reaching gale force, and the western districts especially experienced showery weather. On the (ith a tornado mox tng from the sea visited Greymouth Houses were unroofed, and much other damage was done in Cowper street and Blaketown. A whirling column of vapour and debris was very clearly seen. The finest spell of weather during the month followed the westerly weather and persisted till the 15th. ' During this period a severe tropical cyclone developed in the Fiji Group, and moved slowly awav.

On the night of the 11th and the morning of the 12th a heavy fog in Cook Strait caused delays to shipping. Ou the 17th a second cyclone crossed'Southern Otago, and again northerly gales and almost general rain accompanied its passage. Thunderstorms were a marked feature of this cyclone during the whole time that it was moving over the Tasman Sea and New’ Zealand. The accompanying “ atmospherics ” were particularly frequent and violent, and wireless communication with shipping was at times greatly interfered with. On the 10th a cloudburst at Norris’s Mill, six miles from Westport, raised a flood in Waimea Creek, and several bridges were damaged. Another cloudburst was reported from Pukemiro, in the Thames Valley, on the 18th. A third cyclone traversed the Dominion on the 22nd, the centre this time crossing South Canterbury. Precipitation was again general, and southerly winds in the rear of depression brought particularly heavy rain to the eastern districts of the South Island. Had the cyclone not moved away so quickly severe flooding would have been inevitable. As it was, the Leith stream again threatened to inundate Dunedin, and parts of Christchurch were under water. At Kaikoura the phenomenal fall of 3in in 65 minutes was registered. Thunder and hail storms were very violent and widespread in connection with this storm, especially on the 22nd, and wireless operators again experienced trouble from “ atmospherics.” The last of the month's cyclones moved over Southern Otago on the 29th. Boisterous weather and almost general rain accompanied its passage. At Wellington over 70 miles per liour was »»* a northerly gale on the 29th.° Each of the cyclonic storms described was responsible for falls of snow on the ranges in the South Island, and a number of frosts occurred.

RAINFALL FOR DECEMBER AND CALENDAR YEAR, 1929.

NORTH ISLAND.

SOUTH ISLAND

z ■5 2 5 “ a "5 5S O § t § S Vw ** w U Z Station. Q £ 2 OS H £ 2 in. in. in. in. 1—Kaitaia 0.97 5.51 3.2.8 54.66 2 —Russell 1.53 3.91 2'65 45.32 3—Auckland 3.93 7.09 2.84 51.52 4—Tauranga 3.90 6.57 3.47 16.71 5—Tairua 1.S0 4.68 51.07 6—Kawhia .. 6.10 55.69 7—Maraehako Station, Raukokore 2.66 5.96 2.74 55.13 8—Hamilton 4.57 6.50 3.72 48.98 9—Taupo 3.22 4.86 3.36 42.83 10 —Gisborne .. 1.67 2.96 2.16 43.58 11—New Plymouth 6.87 6.15 4.33 60.13 12 —W h a n g a momona .. 10.05 10.36 5.84 81.18 13—Taihape . . 4.40 2.92 3.42 31.98 14—Napier 1.09 3.S5 2.30 28.58 15—I’atea 5.09 3.32 3.67 16—Wanganui 4.54 3.12 2.63 32.95 17—Masterton 3.71 1.06 2.80 32.69 18—Foxton 4.10 2.12 2.54 32.58 19—W e 1 1 i n g t on (Karori) 3.06 3.44 2.99 53.92 * Incomplete.

6 s_ c 2-g Be* i = e -io 14 Station. a x 3 < C; d © ce in. in. in. in. 20—Collingwood . . 10.81 —. 8.01 ★ 21—Nelson 3.99 6.91 2.69 48.61 22—Spring Creek, Blenheim 2.89 3.77 2.04 37.99 23—Westport .. 12.83 8.60 6.60 75.13 24—Tophouse 11.21 11.28 5.66 79.38 2>—Greymouth 13.58 1 1.51 8.56 94.91 26 —Hokitika 19.75 15.43 10.70 109.80 27—Gore Bay — 1.20 2.77 28—Arthur’s Pass 29.11 19.16 1 1.93 176.71 29—Christchurch . . 3.10 1.06 2.06 23.5-3 30—Lambrook St ation, Fairlie 5.08 1.32 2.58 32.22 31—Okuru. South Westland 15.71 13.22 11.73 119.12 32—Timaru .. 2.41 1.00 2.41 23.36 33—Oamaru .. 3.17 1.61 2.15 27.61 34—Benmore Station. Clearburn 6.24 3.19 2.13 31.45 35—Queenstown 4.21 .32.90 36—Clyde 2.50 2.97 1.79 15.38 37—Dunedin . . 5.91 3.74 3.48 41.96 38—Invercargill 5.2a 4.12 4.26 41.48 * Incomplete.