Weather Man Gives Report on January

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 583, 8 February 1929, Page 2

Weather Man Gives Report on January

N.Z. Has a Month of Marked Contrasts SOME FIERCE STORMS rrcss Association WELLINGTON, To-day. Tho following meteorological notes j on the month of January were issued by Or. E. Kidson, the Government ! Meteorologist, yesterday: January was a month of contrasts, j a hot 1 spell in the third week being followed by a cold snap of almost wintry severity. The rainfall was considerably below the average in the North Island and the western districts of the South Island; but in Canterbury and Otago an excess was generally recorded. Once more there was an unusual frequency of thunderstorms, many of which were severe. In some cases these storms were accompanied by downpours resembling miniatmt cloudbursts. Some remarkable hailstorms also occurred, considerable damage being done in a number of instances. The storm systems were mainly centred far south, and were of only moderate intensity in consequent. The prevailing weather was of the westerly type. The storms affected principally the South Island high-pres-sure centres, and continued to follow unusually far northward tracks for this season of the year, but were seldom of any great intensity. The deficiency of rainfall following on the heavy rains of December was not sufficient in the North Island to affect the pastures adversely, and feed is everywhere abundant. The rankness of the growth has in places adversely affected the raising of fat lambs, but the stock is on the whole in good condition. Tho hot, dry weather preceding January 20 was a boon to harvesters and haymakers, and satisfactory results are generally reported. Some crops have been flattened by the wind, hail, or rain, but fungus diseases made much less headway than was feared. Fruitgrowers do nut, on the whole, appear to be experiencing quite so good a season as other agriculturists. A very severe hailstorm. in which stones up to two inches in diameter were seen to fall, visited Otago on January 7, during the passage of a low-pressure wave. A number of crops were totally destroyed, and other damage was done. On January 8 a deep depression was centred south of Tasmania, the Hobart barometer reading 28.96 inches. North-westerly gales were experienced in and south of Cook Strait on this day, and next, on January 10, a terrific thunderstorm, accompanied by torrential rain, occurred near the Hermitage. some miles of the road being washed out. The week ending January 19 was very hot, many places in the South Island recording over 90 degrees Fahreiheit. In the North, although the temperatures were not so high, great humidity rendered the conditions no less oppressive. Hawke’s Bay, however, appears to have escaped much of the severity of this heat wave. The hot spell was followed by a period of south erlv winds, which gradually increased in force and brought lower and lower temperatures. An anticyclone was centred over the Tasman Sea, while the pressure fell very low to the eastward. On the afternoon of January 23, the Chatham Islands reported a barometer reading of 28.7 Sin. Southerly winds began to reach gale force in places on January 22, but did not attain their full strength until the night of the 24th, and the morning of the 25th. Most districts then experienced gales, but from Cook Strait southwards on the East Coast they were exceptionally severe. High winds accompanied by high tides and a heavy swell caused unusually rough conditions. Shipping was delayed, and some vessels reported damage. Some of the eastern suburbs of Christchurch were flooded, and the Wellington-to-Petone railway was again undermined in places. Snow fell on the high country on the 23rd and the 24th, and severe hailstorms were remarkably widespread. By the 25th the weather was extremely cold, some stations eveti recording a frost. From the 28th conditions gradually returned to normal. The month has been remarkable for the disturbed conditions in the tropics. In the interior and north of Australia tho pressures were most unusally low, monsoonal conditions being strongly developed. Between the 18tli and the 23rd the low-pressure conditions extended across the Pacific to beyond Samoa. At least two cyclonic centres developed, one near the New Hebrides, which ultimately passed close to Suva, where the barometer fell to below 28in., and the other near Samoa. It is probable that there were two separate centres in the latter. Fortunately the damage done was not severe.