FEBRUARY WEATHER

Hokitika Guardian, 7 March 1930, Page 6

FEBRUARY WEATHER

M jfiTKOKOLOGI'ST’S KEYIEAY

(By Tfclegraph-—Per Press Association.!

\YEDDINGTON. March (5

Tn contrast to the preceding month. February was a very dry one over tin greater part of the Dominion. The whole of the South Island, with the exception of Pnysogur Point, had a low rainfall, tim deficiency being greatest in the North Canterbury, Marlborough, Nelson, and Westland provinces. Most of the North Island also experienced less than the averitgo, but a con side* ruble excess was rot or (led in the .Hast Coast portion from Poverty May northwards, and throughout Auckland peninsula.' This effect was brought about by a predominance of -south-easterly winds, which were associated with p: < sing to the north of the Dominion. Kv( n in those districts where the rain was scanty, the growth of grass was well maintained throughout, dim effect of the lack of rain was sum!], owing to the heavy falls in the previous months to an absence of drying w'm's, and to the cool and somewhat changeable weather which prevailed. The eondi lions were indeed at times more , r

the spring than summer type. 0" the whole the month was favourah l ' to all classes of stock. Dairy herdhnre milked well, and sheen and iambs have thrived in most districts, "be latter, however, l ine not fattened as well as might have been expected at this season of tim year, owing to he rankness and si. 'ft ness of the pasture. The ■ reports indicate good crop vields. but an absence of warm sunddne has caused harvesting to be ’iiiK’li later than usual in many districts. Hoot crops have done remarkably well, tin.' weather having been most favourable to this class of crop.

The mean temperature was again markedly below normal, for, although here were many warm days, the nights were invariably cool. The pressure systems responsible for the periods of unsettled weather were mainly cyclonic in form. Auckland Hav of Plenty, and Poverty Bay districts experienced a considerable rainfall between first and fifth, while a cyclone was located to the northast of Cape Maria Van Diemen. r his disturbance passed rapidly away in the thirteenth, the dominating inmen e was a slow moving, fairly incuse anticyclone. Except in these areas, and during the period men-

iiied. line weather of unusual brilliance was experienced over the Doninion until the thirteen. Only two Impressions of the westerly type were

■(•corded during the month, one on sixteenth and the other on the night f the twenty-third. The former fol’owed closely by a cyclone, which had moved gradually across the Northern "asman ‘Sea. and crossed the North "sland during the night of the fifeentli, more especially in northern ’nd east coast portions, where some hooding occurred at places. The observer at Maraehako Station in the May of Plenty measured eleven inches of rain on the fifteenth. A second •erv fine spell set in on the twentyfifth, and continued to the close of he month. At this time, there was •vidence of an intense tropical cyclone operating to the north-east- of New Zealand. It was too far away to hive any general unfavourable effect m the Dominion’s weather, but some scattered rain fell in the Auckland and East Cape districts, and on the afternoon of the twenty-eight, a severe thunderstorm occurred in the neighbourhood of Taumarnmii. A

bouse at Tekoura suffered considerable damage by lightning, the verandah '•ollapsing, and the front of the house "eing seorOied.