October 1970:  October was the third successive month with low sunshine over most of the country, and for the greater part it was also the fifth successive month of comparatively warm weather. In northern districts of the North Island the lack of sun caused poor growth and low dairy production. Elsewhere weather effects on farming were variable, it being too wet in some districts such as parts of Wairarapa, and too dry in Otago and northern Hawkes Bay. A small local tornado caused some damage on the 17th at Point England (Auckland).

Rainfall: Rainfall was below normal in the South Island except in Nelson, on the West Coast, and in southern Southland. It was also below normal in the southern half of the North Island, except in northern Wairarapa. The greater part of Canterbury and Otago besides most of Gisborne and parts of Hawkes Bay had less than half the normal value. The only considerable area with rainfall more than 50% above normal extended from just north of Auckland City to Hokianga Harbour but did not include the east coast of Northland. In this area and in Coromandel and Bay of Plenty 2/3 of the total rainfall fell from the 27th to the 31st, in northerlies. In Bay of Plenty rainfalls for 28-31 October were as high as 11”, with many falls of 4”-7” on the 29th. Flooding was reported in the Whakatane River and the Kaituna River and also in parts of Northland and Coromandel. Flooding in the Waikato River early in the month was mainly the result of heavy rain at the end of September.

256mm rainfall at Port Fitzroy, 4mm at Ophir.

Temperatures: Temperatures were above normal or close to it over the whole country. Departures exceeded 1C in Hawkes Bay, Gisborne, most of Bay of Plenty, and around Auckland City.

26.3C maximum at Jordan on the 22nd.

Sunshine: Sunshine was below average over the greater part of the country, mainly by 30-40 hours. Westport and Greymouth had their lowest October sunshine on record [much lower totals were recorded in Westland in 1988]. Totals were close to average in parts of Northland, Taupo, Golden Bay, Motueka, the Mackenzie area, Otago and Southland.

[Some totals:  Kaitaia 178, Kerikeri 174, Whangarei 152, Leigh 153, Auckland 152, Tauranga 165, Whakatane 172, Taupo 174, Opotiki 148, Auckland Aero 150, Hamilton 150, New Plymouth 136, Masterton 164, Gisborne 165, Napier 192, Wairoa 169, Paraparaumu 139, Ohakea 150, Kairanga 142, Palmerston North 118, Levin 137, Wellington 138, Stratford 153, Ohakune 124, Wanganui 141, Takaka 209, Westport 102, Hokitika 125, Greymouth 88, Haast 154, Riwaka 213, Nelson 193, Blenheim 189, Grassmere 165, Kaikoura 154, Mt Cook 128, Mt John 211, Methven 164, Christchurch 149, Tekapo 206, Timaru 127, Waimate 151, Omarama 184, Palmerston 162, Dunedin Aero 171, Dunedin 159, Oamaru 159, Queenstown 175, Alexandra 200, Invercargill 181,  Campbell Is 74, Chatham Is 158]

Sources: NZ Met. Misc. pub. 107 (Climatological table, NZ Gazette) and NZ Met. Misc. pub. 109 (Meteorological Observations).

No -  zero in September 1966. The October and November lows (as indeed for most months of the year) are also very low. But January has a low of 7.4mm.

The seasonal rainfall variations in the SI hinterland vary quite a lot by region. In Central Otago (excluding Lakes district) there is a pronounced summer maximum, or most accurately, for stations like Alexandra and Ophir Dec-Feb is maximum season, July-Sept minimum. South Canterbury plains area is similar. But at Wanaka which is close to uniform, Apr-June is the wettest and Jul-Sept driest. Queenstown is slightly less uniform but has Sept-Nov as wettest and June-Aug driest, while Tekapo has April-June wettest and Jan-March driest. The bottom line is that the complicated SI topography produce a variety of results. The NI has less variety.

I could post a workbook (or perhaps just part thereof to avoid info. overload) showing these variations for stations with fairly long records.