New Zealand Local Weather Forum
Weather Discussion => Historical => 1980 - 1984 => Topic started by: Sheldybett on October 08, 2024, 09:55:38 PM
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July 1981: July was generally milder and wetter than usual throughout New Zealand. South-easterly winds were more frequent than usual in both the north and south of the country this month, with north-westerlies also being more than usually frequent in the north. There were fewer strong winds than normal for July. The prolonged spell of wet weather caused a severe shortage of feed in many farming areas, particularly the central and southern North Island. Lambing began towards the end of the month, and calving in some northern areas. Heavy fog in the Auckland area closed airports at Auckland, Whangarei, Hamilton, Rotorua, and Taupo on the 2nd, and a second fog on the 22nd again disrupted services in the Auckland area. A small tornado partly demolished a tavern roof in Ohaupo (Te Awamutu) on the 6th.
Rainfall: Rainfalls were above normal for most of New Zealand this month. Areas receiving less than normal rainfall were: Northland; Auckland, parts of Waikato and western Bay of Plenty, and in the South Island, Kaikoura, northern and central Canterbury and parts of Central Otago. Some stations around Kaikoura recorded less than 50 percent of their normal rainfall. This has been the wettest July on record for the Dunedin area. The following totals are new maximum July falls in the Dunedin area. They are expressed as percentage of normal and the year recording began follows in brackets : Centrewood 427 percent (1968), Blackstone Hill 424 percent (1915), Burnside 404 percent (1916), Ross Creek 336 percent (1929), Southern Reservoir 340 percent (1954), Dunedin Airport 292 percent (1966) . The Botanical Gardens had 346 percent, the highest since 1966 only, and Musselburgh 291 percent, the highest since 1939. Some stations in the Balclutha area also had over 300 percent of normal rainfall this month.
Some totals (mm): Otira 561, Fox Glacier 481, Lake Rotoroa 306, Musselburgh 163, Balclutha 126, Albert Park, Auckland 125, Omarama 33, Clyde 28.
Temperature: Mean temperatures were an average of 0.5°C above the July normal over the whole country. There were two warm spells, the first at the beginning of the month and the second between the 24th and 30th . During the latter, parts of the South Island recorded mean temperature 4°C to 8°C above average, while temperatures were 2°-4°C above average over the rest of the country. There was a marked cold spell between the 10th and 18th. This affected most of the country but particularly southern and central areas. Many parts of Otago had heavy snowfalls during this period and mean temperatures were 3°-5°C below average at times. Temperatures remained cool until the 23rd.
19.9°C maximum at Napier Airport on the 6th and Hororata on the 24th, -8.6°C minimum at Naseby on the 17th.
Sunshine: Sunshine hours were high in the north of the country and low in the south, with central areas recording close to normal sunshine. Auckland City recorded 177 hours, its highest July total since records began in 1963, while Dunedin Airport had only 67 hours, its' second lowest total for July for the same period. Timaru was also cloudy, recording its' third lowest sunshine total for July since 1930.
[Some totals: Kaitaia 153, Waitangi 155, Whangarei 168, Leigh 175, Auckland 177, Tauranga 175, Whakatane 156, Rotorua 154, Taupo 128, Auckland Aero 176, Hamilton 145, New Plymouth 135, Masterton n/a, Dannevirke 91, Gisborne 128, Napier 130, Wairoa 119, Paraparaumu 107, Ohakea 122, Palmerston North 89, Levin 104, Wellington 108, Stratford n/a, Wanganui 109, Westport 123, Arapito 107, Hokitika 112, Greymouth 97, Nelson 142, Blenheim 151, Grassmere 138, Kaikoura 133, Mt Cook 43, Methven 96, Christchurch 127, Timaru 89, Oamaru Aero 81, Omarama 92, Palmerston 68, Dunedin Aero 67, Dunedin 59, Te Anau 65, Queenstown 58, Cromwell 86, Alexandra 70, Gore 72, Invercargill 79].
Sources: NZ Met. Misc. pub. 107 (Climatological table, NZ Gazette) and NZ Met. Misc. pub. 107 (Meteorological Observations).