THE WEATHER

Hokitika Guardian, 8 December 1932, Page 6

THE WEATHER

FOR, NOVEMBER.

CONDITIONS THROUGHOUT N.Z

WELLINGTON, December 6. The report for .November is as follows :

General.—<TUe outstanding feature of November’s weather was the very lo,v rainfall experienced in most districts. It was a typical spring month iu the prevalence of • north-westerly winds, g.dee being' r.ecch'dfed on .sevral occasions in the South Island and the southern kalf of'the North. During tne. p.i.-t lew years these spring nojrth-westers have been rather less prominent than usual, so that last month’s experience was rather in tlie nature of a return to normal. The amount. of sunshin© was almost everywhere much above th© aver-ge. Temperatures were rather below normal over most of the North Island and especially in Hawke’s Bay, but in the Wellington province and all the South Island except the West Coast, tney were above normal. Th© dry weather and strong winds have caused the growth of pastures to he checked, but following on the October rains, feed for stock was perhaps more plentiful than it has ever, been before in New Zealand, a.nd in most places showers occurring at opportune, times have been just sufficient to maintain good conditions. In a Few districts there has been a slight falling off in th© milk yield but otherwise stock are doing well. Reports regarding crops are 'also, on the whole, favourable. Haymaking lias been commenced unusually early ami a great deal of ensilage has already been laid down. Except for the prevalence of the grass grub beetle, there is less complaint than usual regarding pasts. Good soaking rains within the next few days will be needed if the effects of the persistent dry weather tare not to become serious.

Rainfall.—The dearth of.rainfall was especially .marked in the North Island. most localities receiving less than half the average, while in many parts of th© Auckland Province, , including North An "bland,' the central interior, and the Gisborne districts, less than a quarter was the rule. Since most of the rain was associated with westerly depressions, the western districts from Kawhia southwards and the high levels fared rather better than the remainder of the country.

In the South Island, Nelson, Maliborugh, North Canterbury and Central Otago, had a very dry month. Heavy rains occurred on several occasions on, the West Coast and the deficits there wer© generally small and unimportant. Similar remarks apply to most of Southland' and Stewart Island. In South Canterbury heavy local downpours, often accompanied by thunder, occurred on two or three occasions when a southerly change followed a warm north-wester. As a result, most of this area received, more than the average fall. Temperatures.—Some reference has already been made to temperature conditions. The mean was about ldeg. F. below norm.rlli in Hawke’s Bay and about the same amount above it in

tho South Taranaki Bight area. In the South Island conditions were ©bout average on th© West- Coast hut east of the ranges the north-vesters brought high temperatures, means being Iclcg. F. and 2deg. F. or even more above normal. A. few frcisXs we-re recorded but most/ of them light. Some damage was done to tender vegetation, many tomato plants being killed, for instance, in Hawke’s Bay by a frost on the morning of the 10th. Sunshine. —-Mast stations recorded 20 to 39 hours more than the average ruin shine. Nelson had 298.2 hours and Blenheim 287.2. ?.

Pressure Systems.—A series of westerly depressions, ,six in all, o.ros>o:l t.he Dominion during the month. Tlio F'\mp, tvne of weather was maintained throughout until the last two days when disturbances in the Pacific Island region caused a break in the succession of wes-erlies. Pressure remained.high to the west and low to the east of New Zealand and strong, cold, southerly winds persisted. None of the westerly depressions l referred to was particularly noteworthy, though a distressing feature was that they generally brought unsettled conditions during the week-ends. Rains were widespread on the night of the 6th and Oth nis one of these depressions passed. Many heavy falls were recorded in districts with a Westerly aspect. On the Bth, in association with a fastmoving depression_ a pood deal of rain wais again experienced in western districts. This was one d‘f' the 'occasions, too, when heavy local rains occurred in Canterbury. Thunderstorms y were experienced from .North Otago to Wellington and even at a few places farther north. The 26th saw another and even more violent visitation of the same nature. Thunderstorms were particularly violent in South Canterbury, a house being struck vt ■ Teinuka and several pen-ons receiving mild isllocks. Some very severe hailstorms recurred in the sarnie district, while violent rains were retorted as far north as Tvaikoura. Thunderstorms were, indeed, unusually numerous during the men'll in Canterbury, being recorded on the ?3 r d, 27th, and 1 Oth in addition to the dav« mentioned.

As V trendy istaited, '.north-westerly gules were exper-miced on several days. of the 23rd and 28th were the moist widespread.