NZ weather summary April 1959

[Rwood]

April 1959:  A good month for growth and stock, apart from the persistence of dampness in parts of the North Island. In the South Island the rain was appreciated after the previous dry spell in some areas.

Rainfall: Rainfall was appreciably above normal over most of the Auckland and Canterbury provinces and also in parts of Nelson and Marlborough. It was more than double the average value in Rotorua-Taupo and south Waikato. Elsewhere rainfall was mainly close to normal. Many thunderstorms were reported in the Rotorua district and the Waikato on the 8th-9th, with some local flooding. Around Rotorua the total rainfall for these 2 days ranged from 8-11”.

Temperatures: Over the South Island (except Nelson and Marlborough) it was 1F-3F warmer than usual. Elsewhere temperatures were close to average. Snow fell on the ranges of both islands in cold southwesterly weather in the last week of the month.

Sunshine: Northern and western districts of both islands and Canterbury were favoured with more sunshine than usual, mainly by 15-30 hours. In coastal Otago and parts of Southland totals were below normal by 20 hours.

[Some totals: Te Hapua 174, Kaitaia 168, Kerikeri 153, Whangarei 153, Auckland 183, Tauranga 200, Whakatane 211, Taupo 157, Hamilton 182, New Plymouth 179, Masterton 156, Gisborne 141, Napier 166, Wairoa 153, Paraparaumu 172, Ohakea 156, Palmerston Nth 138, Levin 160, Wellington 150, Wanganui 165, Westport 153,  Hokitika 158, Greymouth 154, Haast 155, Nelson 198, Blenheim 208, Grassmere 185, Mt Cook 144, Methven 184, Christchurch 166, Tekapo 181, Timaru 165, Waimate 161, Omarama 175, Dunedin Aero 104, Dunedin 106, Queenstown 132, Alexandra 151, Invercargill 93, Campbell Is 35, Chatham Is 87].


Sources: NZ Met. Misc. pub. 107 (Climatological table, NZ Gazette) and NZ Met. Misc. pub. 109 (Meteorological Observations) - additional comments by the poster.

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[ato2]

Thanks for that RWood. I am interested in the Te Hapua site. (Have camped up there a few times in the 70s and 80s)How reliable would the figures be there, do you reckon? Along with Cape Reinga, it is the closest we have on the mainland to anything approaching a sub tropical climate, I think.

[Rwood]

Te Hapua (the Te Paki station during the years of record) had records going back to about 1930, and I think they were pretty good overall. More patchy from the mid-60s, and recording stopped about 1972 from memory. Sunshine average was around 2100 or a bit more, akin to Kaitaia, rainfall also similar. Its record high was around the 2400 mark. There are a few NZ island spots with higher annual mean temps due to high night minima, but yes, that would be right for the mainland. Cape Reinga has high night minima but correspondingly lower daytime temps.

Te Hapua was sufficiently far away from other regions that its rainfall and sunshine monthly anomalies were different from the rest of the North Island from time to time.

[ato2]

Thanks, I appreciate the information. Went fishing up there a few times and camped in the area in the days before large scale dope growing.

[Rwood]

The age of innocence ...