OCTOBER WEATHER

Grey River Argus, 12 November 1948, Page 3

OCTOBER WEATHER

WELLINGTON, November 10. Changeable westerly weather prevailed throughout October except in the first week. There were no settled spells and frequent rain over the greater part of the country has delayed farming operations. East of the ranges, on the other hand, growth of cereals 'and pastures has /been checked by a combination of low rainfall and strong drying winds. In the north, early vegetables were in some cases badly affected by blight. Rainfall: East of the ranges from Napier southwards to Central Otago rainfall was below normal, totals being less than half in the coastal districts of Canterbury*, Nelson, Marlborough and the eastern part of the Auckland Peninsula had smaller deficiencies. Thus, over the greater part of the country the rainfall was above normal. Totals reached double the normal in an area south-east of Auckland City. Temperatures: Mean temperatures were about one degree above normal in the Auckland Province: elsewhere the month, as a whole, was slightly cooler than usual. On the Canterbury coast, however, several very warm days towards the end of the month helped to carry the mean temperature a little above normal. In Timaru and Dunedin the maximum temperature on the 28th. was the highest recorded in any October since 1914. Sunshine: East of the ranges the duration of bright sunshine was, ,in general, above normal; also in Nelson and Marlborough. Only in parts of Hawke’s Bay and South Canterbury was the excess as much as 20 hours. Elsewhere, totals failed to reach the average by small'amounts-, except in Taranaki where the deficiency was over 30 hours. Weather Sequence: A cold front which had moved rapidly northwards during the night of the Ist., slowed up and became stationary over the Auckland district. Under the influence of a deep depression advancing slowly eastwards across the Tasman Sea, Vain became general nad persistent over the North Island, with substantial falls in the Auckland province, and some local flooding. The centre crossed Auckland on the 6th. Some light falls extended to eastern and northern districts of the South Island, but the weather was fair in Westland and, after the 2nd., in Southland also. A small apti-cy-clone which had developed in the south crossed to the east of Canterbury on the 4th. On the Bth., a vigorous cold front, associated with a deep depression in the far south, travelled north-east-ward over the Dominion accompanied by a band of heavy rain. Afterwards, cool south-westerlies produced occasional showers in most districts. A ridge of high pressure gave a temporary clearance on the 11th. Two depressions then moved rapidly south-eastwards past Southland. The trough associated with the first arrived from the west on the night, of the 12th. and passed away beyond East Cape 36 hours later. After a very brief clearance the second trough reached Southland' on the morning of the 15th. A secondary cold front following a day later passed off to th e north-east on the afternoon of the 17th. Pressure remained relatively high to the north, while a series of deep south-eastward moving depressions passed in succession to the south of the Dominion. Boisterous westerly conditions continued until the end of the month. Rain was frequent and often heavy, especially in and west of the South Island ranges. Of the associated troughs those which moved across on the 19th. and 23rd. were particularly active, being accompanied by gales and widespread thunderstorms. During their passage some brief rain penetrated to Ihe Canterbury and Hawke’s Bay Plains, hut otherwise the weather there remained fair. Towards the end of the month, day temperatures became very warm east of the ranges.