PLEASANT AND SUNNY

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20957, 9 November 1939, Page 13

PLEASANT AND SUNNY

OCTOBER WEATHER RAIN LESS THAN NORMAL PASTURES STILL BACKWARD On the whole October was a pleasant and sunny month, states a report by the Dominion Meteorologist. It was rather cool, however, especially at night, and much drier than usual, but fortunately with the absence of drying winds. Conditions favoured grass growth, but pastures are still rather backward. The lambing season has been satisfactory and the weather, except for the gale at the end of the month, has enabled a good start to be made with shearing. Cattle are healthy with an increasing milk yield, which has not yet reached the rate of production of last year. Crops and cultivation are well ahead, and orchards are making good progress Rainfall Below Average The earlier part of the month was very dry, particularly in the south, but afterwards most districts had beneficial falls. Except in some northern and eastern areas of the Auckland Province, rainfall totals have been below average and indeed below 50 per cent of the average over almost half the country. The rains have barely sufficed for present requirements, so that there is a need in most farming districts for early warm rains. On the average, mean temperatures were about a degree below the normal for October. The greatest departures occurred in eastern districts, where sea breezes helped to keep the temperatures down. Nights were cool generally and frosts fairly frequent, some of the sharpest following the cold south-westerly at the close of the month. The hail accompanying this wind was severest in Hawke’s Bay where, however, the damage to fruit crops was fairly localised Ample Sunshine Sunshine averages were well exceeded in Otago, Southland, and in most western districts, while some slight deficits were recorded at several stations, on the east coast. A severe thunderstorm, accompanied by heavy rain and hail, affected the Hawke’s Bay Province on the 12th. Fortunately the worst hail showers did not extend to a ver., wide area of orchards. On the same day a small tornado was reported at Thornton, near Whakatane. Pressure Systems For the first week anti-cyclonic conditions prevailed, the weather being fine and mild, but an almost stationary disturbance in the far north brought cloudy weather to the Auckland Peninsula and finally stormy easterly wind and rain to the entire province. During the 7th a rapidly moving depression came across the South Tasman Sea and resulted in a southerly change on the Bth and 9th. At this time rain was fairly general, with some good falls on the east coast.

As shallow depressions passed between the 11th and 13th, the weather remained rather unsettled and central provinces had heavy rain and some thunderstorms, the rain extending later to the north. Thereafter, there was a general fine spell, but a more extensive disturbance, with one of its centres to the south, caused freshening northerlies with rain in Westland and the far south and later generally, except in Canterbury and Marlborough. Then the northern centre crossed the North Island and brought heavy rain to the Auckland Province.

A new disturbance commencing its passage across the Dominion on the 24th gave rain in the west and south of the South Island and, on the 26th, caused freshening south-westerlies, which were accompanied by colder temperatures. scaUered rain showers and isolated hail. An anti-cyclone was moving across the Tasman but the depression to the south-east deepened considerably, keeping the winds south-westerly, and on the 30th these increased to squally gales, sweeping the country with cold showers and hail. However, as barometers rose, conditions made a rapid improvement and temperatures moderated on the closing day of the month.