NEW ZEALAND WEATHER IN 1865.

Southland Times, Issue 566, 21 September 1866, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND WEATHER IN 1865.

Yet withstanding the dry and uninteresting E3itrre of meteorological tables, there are few people who are not occasionally l&d by curiosity to 2«fer to them for the -purpose of ascertaining *:huTr high the thermometer stood in that very Let day ?" —" how Iqtt the barometer fell before that storm P' —"how iriuch rain fell in that £oo&}" —"how many pounds to the foot or ta2e an ho*; - the wind Mew w that severe gale ?" sad perii«gs also " how the Southland climate staztdk in ectfcperison with ihe other Provinces of 'Sew Zealand?" In tnsttepaiion of the lastxaaaed eEgtriry, I appended to the report I lately

furnished" to the Provincial Q-oternmenfe a comparative table of elimato lii the various Provinces during 1884. tTnfortunately I did no* receive the reports for 1805 fiora the different stations in time for inclusion in that wrturn, ' but as they reached me by a recent tnail, I am able to publish such results as may be of general interest, I regret that I have very impcrfeot information in tho most important point— the great storms of the year, nor oan I rely upon the few recorded observations of wind-force. Either the New storms are trifling oompared with those of other countries— a view— my o*cti experience leads ma decidedly to reject— or the anemometers must bo out of order or in improper positions, an explanation muohmore probable. In 1884 three groat storms appear to have visited Now Zealand, but to have been very partial in their effects. Nelson and Mongonui experienced a gale from N.E. on the 7th and Bth of July, noted as the severest of the year, but as the registered maximum pressure was only 8 and 12 1 b. respectively, if that be correct it could not. have been very alarming. Wellington and Tarauaki reported a really heavy gale on the 17th and 18th of June, with a respective pressure of 20 and 221bs. to the square foot. Neither of these storms were felt in the slightest degree in this Province. But the great tempest of the year in the Southern part of the colony, in Canterbury, Otago, and Southland, was that of the Ist of February. Christchurch registered a pressure of nearly 181bs., which may possibly be correct. The Dunedin papers described the gale as the most terrible and destructive ever kuown there, and columns were filled with accounts of its ravages. Yet we find the maximum force of this disastrous hurricane, recorded as only " 121bs. or 50 miles an hour." Now considering the havoc caused by this storm, I have no hesitation in asserting that a 12lbs. force would not ha^e been capable of such mischief — probably double that force would have been insufficient. Here, where the gale (although with one exception, the most violent I have witnessed in eight years' observation), did not cause such excessive damage as in Dunedin, the pressure was as great as 301b5., and even this sinks into insignificance before the English storm of Dec. 3, 1863, when the Liverpool anemometer registered 43ibs. to the square foot, or 105 miles an hour, at which point the cups of the guage were blown away. It is incredible that the Liverpool gale should have exceeded the Dunedin gale in the ratio of 43 to 12! My record of the pressure was I have said 30 % 51b5., and I suspect this is much nearer the mark. Of the storms of 1865, I have no adequate report except from Christchurch. There, as in Southland, the great gale of the year was that of November 24, which was the only storm I have known to exceed in violence the one before noticed. The November gale of 1865, blew with a force unparalleled in my recollection, and I heard it remarked by some old and experienced shipmasters that they had never known its equal. Like the February gale &f 1864, it was a cyclone of vast extent. The direction here was W.N.W., at the same time it was blowing from S.E. at Hokitika. . The maximum pressure here was 32.7 lbs. to the square foot (in Christchurch, 161bs. (?). At times, the force appeared almost irresistible ; roofs, chimneys, windows, fences, trees, all suffering severely, and although we have never had the opportunity of testing the strength of our colonial buildings by a West Indian hurricane of 45 to 50 lbs to the foot, or a Liverpool tempest of 43 lbs. ; we need not desire a heavier storm than our 32-lb. gale on the 24th of November, 1865. The readings of the barometer in 1865 do not differ materially from those of 1864. The lowest readings occurred in Soiithland in both years, and in the same month — May (2859 and 28"56 inches) in Christchurch it was as low as 28 - 68 in July. The maximum readings were attained in August at each station, the highest being 3058 inches, at Wellington, The mean temperature was slightly lower than in 1864. Anckland and TaranaM had the highest temperature ; that of Nelson "was the same as the average of the whole Colony ; Canterbury, Otago, and Southland were very nearly the same — Otago the coldest. The summer heat of Southland was greater than that of Otago, Nelson, Wellington, or Monganui, and the sharpest frost very little colder than the mildest of the other Provinces. The various readings of the thermometer, in shade, were as follows : —

The hygrometer showed a smaller degree of atmospheric humidity than in 1864. The degrees were as follows : — Mongonui, "74 ;. Auckland, *67 ; Taranaki, '72 : Wellington, '65 ; Nelson, "75 ; Canterbury, "75 j Otago, -69 ; Southland, "71. The rainfall was much greater than in 1864 at each station — Mongonui alone excepted. Some of the amounts registered in 24 houre {e.g.— 363 inches, 6*35 inches, 406 and 364 inches) were singularly large. The rainfall of the year in Southland was double the average of previous years. The following are the results : —

It will be observed that Nelson has the largest amount of rain, and the smallest number of rainy days. Dunedin, as usual, has the largest number, Canterbury stands at the head of the Provinces as regards climate, judging from the comparison of the last two years. The cloud tables give Canterbury the clearest and Auckland, Taranaki and Southland the most cloudy skies, although the difference is very smalL It must be remembered that Southland would have taken a very different place in these tables hod the comparison been made in 1858, or any of the three succeeding years. 1865 was incomparably the worst year I have known in eight years' observations. Chasles Eotjs Mabtejt, Director of Meteorological Stations, Southland. j Martendale, August 29th, 1866.

Maximum. Minimum. Mean. Mongonui 80-5 28"0 56*1 Auckland 90-3 31 9 59-6 Taranaki 93 0 300 575 Wellington 84-0 330 557 Nelson 81-0 260 54"5 Canterbury 89-4 25"3 527 Otago 82-9 30-0 50'S Southlana 85-0 25-1 509

ISO. of I Greatest Days on Totalrain amount on Tvhich fall in in rain fell the year. - hours. Inches. Inches, Mongonui 134 4083 363 Auckland 211 4007 I*7o TaranaH 170 5680 231 Wellington 139 5079 257 Nelson 95 6839 635 Canterbury 115 2436 I'l6 Otago 219 4664 4-06 Southland 217 6366 -3-64