WEATHER RECORDS : MARCH, 1928.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4, 20 April 1928, Page 292

WEATHER RECORDS : MARCH, 1928.

Dominion Meteorological Office.

The dry weather which commenced about 20th December, and from which only partial relief was experienced in February, continued in many districts throughout March. Unfortunately, too, it has been most marked in some parts which suffered most in previous —namely, Nelson, Taranaki, and the western portions of Wellington Province. Over the greater part of the Auckland Peninsula .and in Hawke’s Bay falls, were above normal in March. , In . Canterbury and Otago, also, there were some cases in which the average was exceeded, and, in general, the deficiencies were not very serious in those provinces. Temperatures were, on the whole, mild. . -.- ... . ’.

• The relative absence of westerly winds is still a characteristic of the season, while, on the other hand, the rate at which pressure, systems move from the. westward has remained rapid. The zone of prevailing westerlies appears, however, to be gradually pushing its way northward over the southern portions of the Dominion. The westerly- type of weather ruled, indeed, 1 from the 23rd to the 28th, but pressure was high to the north of the Dominion and the westerly rains practically did not extend north of Westland. .

C There were only two storms of any importance during the month. A cyclone of considerable intensity appeared north of the Dominion on the sth, and, moving southwards, was centred near Auckland on the afternoon of the 6th. A secondary developed . west of Kawhia during the 7th, and did not finally disappear till the 9th. Strong winds, mainly from a south-easterly direction, were experienced northwards of Cook Strait during the sth 'and 6th, gale force being .reached in places. Widespread rains fell in connection with this storm, but the .western , districts south of Auckland benefited little. • There were some heavy falls northward' of Castlepoint, but more especially in North Auckland. A cyclone of the same type was evidently centred to the north-east on the th to the 6th, causing fresh southeasterlies. and rain north of Auckland and Castlepoint. Its centre, however, never approached very near the Dominion. ,

7 The. second of the storms referred to was a cyclone which moved rapidly during the 25th. to 26th past the south end of the Dominion. Strong westerly winds, reaching gale force at times in the Cook Strait region and southern Otago, blew on the 26th and 27th, while there was a strong westerly gale at Chatham Island on the 28th. The rains were again fairly widespread, but beneficial chiefly to southern portions of the South Island. A somewhat similar depression passed on the 30th, but this time its centre was farther south, and southern Otago was the only district greatly affected. Apart from the storms mentioned, depressions were mainly slight waves and the rain of a local nature. . Waves passed on the 4th, 10th, 15th, 23rd, and 24th. v ~

Anticyclone centres crossed some part of New Zealand on the 3rd, 14th, 17th, 29th, and 31st. That of the 17th was intense, and was almost stationary east of Otago until the 21st, when it decreased in intensity, disappearing finally on the 22nd. The mild conditions, with lack of'drying winds, have been favourable offsets to the lack of rain in the districts affected.

Phormium Industry Investigations. Valuable work at present is being continued into problems of the phormium industry,” stated the Acting-Chairman of the . Research Council at its February meeting. “ During the flowering period Dr. J. S. Yeates has pushed on with his researches into the characters of the various strains of phormium and the crossing of various varieties. Mr. P. W. Aitken is investigating further bleaching processes, and is elaborating other methods devised by him for the practical treatment of larger quantities of fibre on a commercial basis. Steps are also being taken to devise a system of fibre-strength tests so that valuable information may be readily secured ; upon the strength of different fibres and the influence that various processes exert upon this strength.”

No. Station. Total Fall. Number of ' Wet Days. Maximum Fall. Average March Rainfall. . , North'Island.' . Inches. Inches. Inches. I Kaitaia . . .. 474 7 2-00 . - 3-58 . 2 Russell . . . . ' . . 4-18 9 . 1-38 3-13 3 Whangarei ...... . . .. 6-i8 ' 10 3-24 472 4 Auckland .. .'. ■ 3-45 II - i-53 3-03 5 Hamilton . . .. 3-oo ' 13 ' 074 3-88 6 Kawhia . . • .. . . • ■ - 2-40 .. 9 o62 ■ 3-43 7 New Plymouth . . ... 1-14 5 . o-54 3-62

No. ! ■ ' GT Station. • Total Fall. ’ Number of Wet Days. . Maximum Fall. Average March Rainfall. North Island —continued. Inches. Inches. ■ Inches. 8 Riversdale, Inglewood . ' 3’22 8 1-07 7-39 9 Whangamomona . . 2-OI 7 0-70 5-61 IO Eltham . . ... . . ■ . 1'85 7 0-82 ■ ' • 4-68 ii Tairua . , y : r ;,. . 4'38 . 10 1-78 5'92 12, r Tauranga 372 '. 10 2-00 4-16 73 . Maraehako Station; Opotiki. ; . 4-10 . ' 12 ■ 1-50 . 4-09 14 Gisborne . . 8-63 ■ 15 . ■ 2-20 . .. 4-51 15 Taupo .. . . . . ’ 2-09 4 . 1-20 3’25 16 Napier . . 4'°5 , . 16 • . I-I 7 : 3’29 17Maraekakaho Stn., Hastings 5-33 14 ' . 2-24 3-10 18 ■ Taihape . . : > .-.••■■ i-i3 ' 7 ‘ ■ 0-53 ' 2-95 19 Masterton '■'■■■ ' . . . ■ 2-10 ■ 14 ■ ; 0-41 3-i5 20 Patea .; : ' i-53 ’ ' 4 : . 0-90 3-62 21 .Wanganui. "" .... 1-24 ’ 5 1 0'52 2-62 . ■ .2-62-; 22 Foxton ... . . ■- .. 0-48 3 - o-34 2-20 23 •Wellington (Karori reservoir) 2-13 12 0-76 3-48 South Island. 2-13 outh Island. 12 0-76 3-48 24 Westport ■ .. . 1 ■ .. 2-39 ,.:v n ■ . ' 0-56 5-80 25 Greymouth .. 6-34 12 ' ' 2-41 - 8-70 26 Hokitika ■•••••■•,. , 8-23 IO . : 3-04 . - 9-70 27 Ross "... . . .. . 8-26 ' 8 ' ■ 2-98 ■10-35 28 Arthur’s Pass . . .. 6-39 5 ".r/. 2-40 9'74 29 Okuru, Westland . . .. ■ 12-34 8 4’3° ? 15-48 30 Collingwood ' o-86 8 o-33 4-19 31 Nelson .. ..<,■•• t -r. . , , 0-22 .. 4 0-16 3-08 32 Spring Creek, Blenheim . . . 1-92 • 7 1-00 2-16 , 33 Tophouse . . 2-42 6 0-63 4'33 ‘ 34 HamnerSprings . . . ■■■■■ . .; . 5-03 8 I-II . 2-89 35 .Highfield, Waiau .. 3’52 . 8 1-04 3-oo 3 6 Gore Bay ,, ,,. . .. 4-07 . 11 : 0-98 . 2-29 37 Christchurch .. . I-II : ■ 9 .0-39 . 2-05 38. Timaru . . . . .. ; 1-94 10 0-64 •; ' 2-31 39 Lambrook Station, Fairlie . . 1-42 ■ ■ 5 0-64 2-47 40. Benmore Station, Clearburn i-66 9 ■ ■ 0-58 2-69 4i ■ ■ Oamaru . . ,,...■•. . . 2-46 S ' 0-98 i-73. 42 Queenstown . . 2-52 7 o-94 2-60 43 Clyde .. 1-30 ■ ■ 8 0-40 1-50 44 Dunedin 2-20 12 1-28 2-08 45 Wendon . . ' i-49 8 0-31 2-68 46 Gore .. . . ■1-19 . . 17 0-28 ■■ 3-27 47 Invercargill .. .. 2-64 17 . .. °’84 '' 0-84 3’90 3’90 48 Puysegur Point ' .. , 6-21 .. 15 . ■ 1-30 - 8-oo 49 Half-moon Bay, Stewart Island 6-i6 ' 14 \ . 1-76 1 . .. - 5 ' 79 :

RAINFALL FOR MARCH, 1928, AT REPRESENTATIVE STATIONS.