MONTH OF RECORDS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 2, 3 July 1939, Page 16

MONTH OF RECORDS

DRY, WARM, & CALM

INTERESTING PEAKS

As far as the public are concerned a more pleasant winter month than that just closed could hardly be hoped for. Temperatures were the warmest m any June for just over twenty years, and rainfall and wind were both well below the average. The most pleasing feature was the freedom from bad southerlies; only one bout of these unwelcome visitors was expex'ienced. From the gardener's point of view, too, the month has been abnormal. Plants which are usually dormant at this time of the year are still maintaining some of their autumn growth, while the new season's plants are unusually early. Daphne, for instance, is in bloom six weeks before its normal time, and other shrubs, plants, and vegetables are correspondingly farther ahead than usual, in some opinions rather too far forward owing to the danger of setbacks later in the winter. The conditions have not been as kind to the nurseryman as they have to others. The rainfall, although well distributed throughout the month, has been below normal, and this dry weather coming on top of several previous dry months has retarded June planting operations.

The year" 1939 nas so far set up a record for low rainfalls, the total of 11.27 inches for the six months being the lowest since the records began in 1862. The normal fall for the first half of the year is 20.89 inches.

The mean pressure for June at 9 a.m. was 1009.5 millibars (29.811 inches); the average is 1014.2 (29.950). The highest pressure was 1027.2 millibars (30.334, inches). The lowest, on the 4th, was 991.0 millibars (29.265 inches).

The mean temperature at 9 a.m. was 150.5 degrees, the average being 47.5 degrees. This is the highest mean 9 ajn. temperature in June since the I records commenced in 1928. The mean relative humidity at 9 a.m. was iB2 per cent., or 1 per cent, above the average. The mean maximum temperature was 56.1, the mean minimum temperature 45.5, and the mean temperature 50.8, all three of these being 2.2 degrees above the normal. The maximum temperature is the highest since 1918, when it was also 56.1. The mean minimum is the highest since 1919, when it was 45.7. The mean temperature is the highest since 1917, when it was 51.1. The highest maximum temperature for the month was 63.2 degrees on the 7th. This is the highest extreme maximum since 1919. The lowest minimum temperature was 38.0 degrees—the highest extreme mean since 1910. The mean minimum temperature on'the grass was 40.9 degrees, the average being 37.7. This is the* highest minimum temperature on the grass since 1916. The lowest minimum on the grass for the month Was 31.9, which is the highest figure since 1904.

This is the first June since 1882 when no frost was registered at the Meteorological Observatory. This, howevar, does not mean that it was the June most free from frosts in Wellington, as the Kelburn site is less prone to frosts than some of the earlier sites. No frost has been recorded at Kelburn so far this year.

The mean run of wind in 24 hours was 170 miles, 24 miles below the average. The highest run for any one day was 406 miles, for the 24 hours preceding 9 a.m. on the Bth.

The mean cloud at 9 a.m. was 7 tenths, the average being 5.8 tenths. The total bright sunshine was 105.6 hours, which is a fifth of an hour below the normal. The maximum amount registered on any one day was 8.6 hours on the 26th. There were only two days .without any sunshine.

The total rainfall for the month was 3.42 inches, which is .89 inch below the average of 4.31 inches. The rainfall was evenly distributed throughout the month, the highest fall in any one day being .058 inch on the 11th. Rain fell on 14 days, the normal number being 17.