JANUARY'S WEATHER.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13178, 10 February 1936, Page 7

JANUARY'S WEATHER.

GOVERNMENT S REPORT. General: In the North Island January was a very wet. month. Most places in the Auckland and Hawke’s Ray Provinces, indeed, had two to three times the average rainlall. In consequence, there has been unusual growth of grass, pastures are very green, and feed abundant. Stock geneially are in very good condition and the milk yield is high. The weather was, however, too wet. for satisfactory haymaking and much cut hay was lost. The pasture is too green, also, for lambs to fatten very well. Fruit crops, especially stone fruit and tomatoes, suffered considerably from the excessive moisture. In the South Island conditions were very different, rainfall being much below normal in most districts. On the other hand, there was vary Tittle westerly wind and consequently an absence o; dry and sunny weather. Feed generally is plentiful, though in some parts 1 res li green pa sti ire is la ck i ng. Again, though stock are mostly in good condition, lambs are not fattening as well as usual. Wheat crops promise to be heavy. In the country as a whole the season is a backward one, fruit and crops maturing as much as three weeks later than usua l Bainfall: The great excess of rainfall in the North, Island hasi already been mentioned. In the South Island there was an average deficit of about 50 per cent. In Nelson and Marlborough the falls approached the average, and Oamam and Invercargill. also, had good rains. North Canterbury and, the West Coast had a'particularly dry month. Temperatures: Though the departures were nowhere very large, temperatures were generally above normal especially in the interior and on tin* west coast. Sunshine: Sun-liine wa s considerably above normal in the interior of the South Island at Take Tekapo and Alexandra, and on iTm west coast at New Plymouth and Hokitika, but in most other places was below it. Hawke’s Ray and Canterbury had unusually low values. Pressure and Storm Svstcms For the first, five days of the month an anti-cyclone covered New Zealand and i ho weather wa, fine. Between

the 6th and Sth. though pressure remained high to the east a series of shallow depressions moved on to the Pomiuion. North-easterly gales and heavy rain occurred in the north. -Nor- 1 1; Auckland experiencing some Hooding. Good rains were recorded over most of the Xon h Island, but in the South they were lighter. Between the 11th a lid 17th. a somewhat similar series, of depressions made their appearance. Genera! rain, were again recorded.. A north-easterly gale was experienced in the Auckland Province on the night ot the 14th to loth, and hoods occurred in Xorl h Auckland and the Bay of Plenty. On the 17th there were northerly or north-westerly gales at many places. I he third, series ot depressions which were again only shallow arrived on the 22nd to 23rd. Once more there was flooding in North Auckland, though elsewhere the rain was generally light. Finally, on the 2thh to 30tli northerly gale,, occurred about and south of Cook Strait in connection with a westerly disturbance, though there was lntle rain. Thunderstorms V ere fairly frequent during the month.