MARCH WEATHER

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18367, 9 April 1934, Page 7

MARCH WEATHER

:* ’/>j v ; ’ ■*' , i "v ' s'*. DRY MONTH IN NORTH IS. DROUGHT BREAKS IN SOUTH ISLAND • . *p ; r (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, this day. The Dominion meteorologist, in his notes on the weather of March, states : “In much the greater part of the North Island, March was very dry. In the South Island conditions.were more varied and a most important feature was the breaking of the drought in Nelson and Marlborough by the heavy rains of March 2f7. Temperatures were considerably below normal, but this was not altogether an unfavorable circumstance . since in combination with a general absence of stjrong winds it tended to mitigate the effects of the lack of rainfall, especially, in the middle of the month. In most districts there is abundant pasture ofc;gqod quality, but in the Waikato and parts of Taranaki rain is needed to produce la goodj growth ■ before winter. In Nelson and Marlborough, also, there has not yet been much recovery following the drought. Stock are almost everyKithere reported to be in good condition; the. milk yield has been well maintained; a-nd crops generally are good. The apple crop in Nelson is, however, rather light owing to the absence of soil moisture.

RAINFALL AND TEMPERATURES “The only considerable area of the Ndrih Island which had more than the average rainfall included most of western Wellington south of W&aganui and extended to the northern Wairarapa. Over the rest of the island, the totals averaged only about half the normal, and the central and north-eastern districts recorded a particularly dry month. In the South Island, an area in North Canterby and South Marlborough had double the usual fall for March. Westport, also, Md a heavy fall. Elsewhere, conditions varied considerably, but excesses were rather less numerous than deficits. ,“The month was a distinctly cold one. At most places the mean temperature was between one degree and two degrees below normal. The west coast of the South Island had relatively milder conditions than the remainder of the Dominion. A few frosts were recorded but, on the whole, the eold spells, though lengthy, were not severe. PRESSURE SYSTEMS “The storm systems' experienced during the month were rather too complicated to describe in detail. A marked characteristic of the general situation was the disturbed conditions which prevailed in the tropics. Damage was done by cyclones in Austra-lia-on both the north-west and the Queensland coasts, while several less violent storms occurred in ‘the area to the cast of Australia. Associated with these conditions were a number of intense and widospreading anticyclones which occurred in New Zealand latitudes. : In, several the pressure, at the centre exceeded 30.51n5., and'the mean pressure for the month was * considerably above normal. . . . “The most important storm was cyclonic in form and moved slowly through Cook Strait between March 26 and 28. General rains were recorded with many heavy falls, especially in the central portions of the Dominion. Between one and two inches were recorded in the areas of Nelson and Marlborough, where drought had previously prevailed. Particularly heavy falls occurred in parts of North Canterbury and the Kaikoura districts, where rivers and creeks were in high flood. This and that of March 2 were the only general rains."