WEATHER RECORDS : JANUARY, 1928.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXXVI, Issue 2, 20 February 1928, Page 144

WEATHER RECORDS : JANUARY, 1928.

The Director of the Dominion Meteorological Office (Dr. E. Kidson) reports as follows : GENERAL NOTES. The past month of January has been notable for the exceptionally dry conditions experienced over the whole of the Dominion. The deficiency of rainfall is most serious in districts with a westerly aspect, following as it does on a dry December. No vigorous low-pressure disturbance affected any . part of the New Zealand region during the course of the month. On several occasions storms developed in Australia which would normally have brought general rains to this country. In each instance, however, although some slight effect was felt, the pressure changes were reduced to shallow waves by the time the disturbance crossed the Dominion. The most important of these waves passed on the ist-2nd and the 26th January respectively. Each produced moderate rains in parts of the west coast districts, with scattered showers elsewhere. The dominant feature of the pressure distribution has been the persistence of high pressure, especially in the North. Anticyclones were actually centred over or near New Zealand on ist-2nd, 4th-6th, Bth-i2th, I4th-23rd, and 29th-3ist respectively. The dry, warm, sunny, and droughty weather experienced was the direct consequence of these anticyclonic conditions. The mean pressure was the highest recorded for January at Wellington. On the whole there. has been a relative absence of wind, but between the 16th and 19th, while a rather intense anticyclone lay across the South Island, strong easterly winds blew over the North Island, frequently reaching gale force in the far North and causing showery weather in the Auckland Peninsula. The month has been the driest January on record in southern Auckland, Taranaki, and parts of the Manawatu, Nelson, and Marlborough districts.

No. Station. Total Fall. Number of Wet Days. Maximum Fall Average January Rainfall. North Island. Inches. Inches. Inches. I Kaitaia . . 0*22 4 O-IO 3-36 2 Russell . . . . . . I-72 9 0-49 4-n 3 Whangarei 1-52 9 o-66 4-08 4 Auckland 0-20 3 0-13 2-66 5 Hamilton 0-15 3-94 6 Kawhia . . - . . O-II 2 0-09 3-52 7 New Plymouth . . Nil 4-42 . 8 Riversdale, Inglewood 0-03 2 0-02 7'43 9 ,, Whangamomona . . Nil 6-05 IO Eltham . . O-OI 1 O-OI ' 3-92 ii Tairua .. 0-30 4 O-IO 4-35 12 Tauranga 0-17 4 0-09 4'34 13 Maraehako Station, Opotiki 0-38 2 0-28 4-29 14 Gisborne.. . . 1-27 4 1-09 2-97 15 Taupo .. .. 0-50 1 0-50 37 1 16 Napier . . o-35 5 0-21 3-i8 17 Maraekakaho Stn., Hastings 0-47 8 . 0-24 2-29 18 Taihape . . 0-32 2 0-26 3-28 19 Masterton o-57 6 0-47 2-69 20 Patea O-OI 1 O-OI . 3-79 21 Wanganui O-OI 1 O-OI 2-87 22 Foxton ' . . -Nil 2-30 23 Wellington 0-19 5 0 • 11 3-3i

RAINFALL FOR JANUARY, 1928, AT REPRESENTATIVE STATIONS.

No. Station. Total Fall. Number of " Wet Days. Maximum Fall. ■ Average January Rainfall. South Island. Inches. Inches. Inches. 24 Westport 2-89 6 1-99 6-8o 25 Greymouth 2-8l 5 o-95 9-03 26 Hokitika ... 4-98 7 2-18 • 9-87 27 Ross . . . . 5’20 5 2-53 12-04 28 Arthur’s Pass . . • . . 0-90 0 0-82 9-36 29 Okuru, Westland . . 7-46 5 2-15 12-86 30 Collingwood . . 0-14 2 0-12 6-95 31 Nelson . . Nil 2-82 32 Spring Creek, Blenheim 0-02 1 0-02 2-22 33 Tophouse o-59 3 0-40 5-14 34 Hanmer Springs . . 1-31 ' 6 0-47 3-74 35 Highfield, Waiau . . 0-52 6 0-16 2-95 36 Gore Bay . . ' . . 0-57 4 0-22 ■ 2-71 37 Christchurch . . . . 0-49 6 0-40 2-21 38 Timaru . . 1-50 8 o-68 2-30 39 Lambrook Station, Fairlie . . 0-50 3 0-24 2-8 4° Benmore Station, Clearburn 1-26 8 o-66 2-77 41 Oamaru . . . . o-66 6 0-29 2-11 42 Queenstown 0-76 5 0-36 2-72 43 Clyde 0-48 5 0-16 I-72 44 Dunedin. . i-58 9 0-50 3-36 45 Wendon .. .. 1-17 5 o-73 3’22 46 Gore .. . . . . I-I2 6 0-56 3‘°9 47 Invercargill I-72 6 I-I3 4-01 48 Puysegur Point . . .. . 6-02 12 0-84 7-22 . 49 Half-moon Bay, Stewart Is. 2-17 9 o-95 4-68

RAINFALL FOR JANUARY, 1928- continued.