WET WEEK-ENDS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 12, Issue 297, 2 March 1945, Page 7

WET WEEK-ENDS

The Theory And The Facts

ee ‘ X THAT," we asked a _ psychologically minded acquaintance the other day, "is your idea of the cause of the Monday-morning-feeling?" He thought for a moment and then began on a highly technical psychological explanation. "You wouldn’t agree," we suggested, "that it has anything to do with the weather?" "Ah," he replied, "I think you’ve got something there. But, as far as Wellington goes, at any rate, isn’t Monday very often a lovely, sunny day after a wet and enforced indoors weekend?" "Yes," we said, "that’s just the point." Another friend, who lived for nine months in a Wellington boarding-house, is bitter on the subject. "Only people who have to live in boarding-houses and who look forward to a change of scene for the week-end," he says, "appreciate a fine week-end." He has found, he says more bitterly still, that when a fine Sunday does come along it is so unexpected that there is no time to make arrangements. "But you can bet your boots that a rotten week-end is always followed by a brilliant Monday which serves only to increase the Monday-morning-feeling." * * * NEw ZEALAND’S week-end weather varies considerably according to locality. On the West Coast of the South Island rain can be expected any day. On the: East Coast of the North Island; long, dry spells are not unusual. But, to gain some idea of what actually happens in cyclonic and anti-cyclonic circles, we asked a Wellington meteorological expert a few questions. He looked up the official records and this is what they disclosed: Forty-seven per cent of all the 366 days in Wellington had some Tain. Fifty-three per cent of week-ends had some rain. There were only 13 Saturdays and Sundays free from rain. eet week-ends had one wet day (either Saturday or Sunay Sixteen week-ends had rain on both Saturday and Sunday. And all this. boils down to the fact that there was, in Wellington, in 1944, only one week-end in four without rain. Having gone so far, we made enquiries about other centres. They produced the following table of figures for the benefit of the statistically-minded. ’

' DRY MONDAYS (out of 52) in 1944: Auckland, 31; Wellington, 29; Christchurch, 28; Dunedin, 24

Saturday and One Day Both Days Wet Sunday Dry Wet Auckland ean 12 22 19 Wellington pm: 13 24 16 Christchurch soul 18 24 11 Dunedin $3 12 ae 59 24 ; Total Wet Saturdays Percentage of 106 t or Sundays Saturdays and Sundays uckland dink 60 57 ellington aed 56 53 Christchurch cued 46 43 Dunedin dnd 65 61 : Percentage of the Total Rain Days 366 Days Auckland oes 195 53 Wellington ome 173 47 _ Christchurch See 156 43 Dunedin oteq 203 55

WEEK-ENDS IN 1944