February 1981: February was a warm month with below average rainfall in most districts. There was an unusually high frequency of north-easterly winds in the north while strong north-westerlies predominated in the south of the country. Very dry weather led to the imposition of fire bans in many areas including Wellington, Nelson and Marlborough. Two concurrent fires in the Hira State Forest early in the month led to the destruction of buildings and over 450 hectares of pine plantation.
Rainfall: February was a particularly dry month for much of the country with many districts in both islands receiving less than 50% of normal rainfall. Large areas of Nelson, Marlborough and Wellington had less than 10% of normal, with Nelson and Blenheim having their driest February since 1973 and Wellington, with 3mm, its driest February since 1908. Several stations in the Wye Valley and Wairoa Gorge areas of Marlborough recorded nil rainfall. On the 28th a front associated with a small depression to the northeast of New Zealand lay to the east of Coromandel Peninsula and East Cape, bringing localized heavy rain to these districts. Coromandel recorded 92mm of rain between 9am/28th and 9am/1 March, with 26mm between 9pm and 11pm. Stations reporting heavy falls that day in the Gisborne-East Cape region included Te Puia Springs (105mm) and Mangatuna, Tolaga Bay (131mm). Above average rainfalls were also recorded in Buller, Fiordland, and near Dunedin.
Some monthly totals (mm): Esk Forest 128, Westport 252, Milford 628, Milton 86; Paraparaumu 10, Kelburn 3, Wellington Airport 6, Appleby 2, Blenheim Aero 2, Grassmere 1, Christchurch 11.
Temperatures: Mean temperatures were about 1C above normal over most of the country but close to normal in eastern Otago, Westland and Fiordland. During a warm spell on the 10th and 11th the east coast of the South Island recorded some of its highest temperatures since 1974. High temperatures recorded on the 10th included Gore (30.4C), Palmerston (34.0C), Dunedin Airport (34.1C and Christchurch Airport (35.5C). Invercargill’s 29.8C was the highest February reading since 1949. There were two cool periods, the 1st-4th over the South Island and the 19th-23rd over the whole country, with daily minima in the latter period down to 8C below normal.
35.5C maximum at Christchurch Aero on the 10th,
-1.5C minimum at Moa Creek on the 7th.
Sunshine: Monthly sunshine was below average in most areas with Auckland City receiving only 127 hours, the lowest total since records began in 1930. Other places with deficits exceeding 30 hours included Kaitaia, Tauranga, Whakatane, Rotorua, Taupo, Napier, Westport, Greymouth, Hokitika, Blenheim, Kaikoura, Oamaru and Dunedin. The Westport total of 138 hours was the lowest for February since 1966. In contrast, Ohakea, Wellington, and the Mackenzie and Central Otago regions received near normal totals.
[Some totals: Kaitaia 157, Waitangi 149, Whangarei 135, Auckland 127, Tauranga 179, Whakatane 173, Rotorua 166, Taupo 163, Auckland Aero 131, Hamilton 164, New Plymouth 180, Masterton 174, Dannevirke 163, Gisborne 190, Napier 168, Wairoa 160, Paraparaumu 179, Ohakea 205, Palmerston North 171, Levin 157, Wellington 195, Stratford 181, Wanganui 182, Westport 138, Arapito 132, Hokitika 140, Greymouth 126, Nelson 206, Blenheim 194, Grassmere 165, Kaikoura 151, Mt Cook 152, Methven 169, Christchurch 173, Tekapo 220, Timaru 151, Oamaru Aero 129, Omarama 212, Palmerston 131, Dunedin Aero 148, Dunedin 121, Te Anau 186, Queenstown 183, Cromwell 214, Alexandra 203, Gore 129, Invercargill 139].
Sources: NZ Met. Misc. pub. 107 (Climatological table, NZ Gazette) and NZ Met. Misc. pub. 109 (Meteorological Observations).
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April 19, 2012, 07:27:35 PM