NZ weather summary April 1956

[Rwood]

{One of the most bizarre months in our recorded weather history}

April 1956:  An exceptionally warm and humid month. Growth was unusually good for the time of year. Over a large part of the North Island excessive rain made the ground very wet, with outbreaks of facial eczema, especially in Taranaki and Manawatu. A tropical cyclone which moved slowly down the west coast of the North Island from the 4th to the 8th caused strong easterly gales and heavy rain over the Auckland province with some serious flooding in parts of Northland. There was an unusually high frequency of winds from a westerly quarter, especially from the 11th to the 28th. During the period thunderstorms were reported rather frequently in western districts, and on the 20th 3 small tornadoes caused local damage in Westland.

Rainfall: Rainfall was more than double normal over almost the whole of the Auckland province and also in parts of Taranaki, Nelson and Marlborough. In some districts, especially in the Auckland province, it was the wettest April on record. For Whangarei (Glenbervie forest) the total of 19.74” was the highest for any month in nearly 50 years of observations; while Auckland’s 14.14” almost equalled the February 1869 tally of 14.15”. Over the remainder of the country rainfall was close to or somewhat above normal. However in Southland and in parts of Wairarapa and Canterbury it was appreciably drier than usual. Tangihanga, inland from East Cape, received 44” during the month, of which 31” fell in the week from the 3rd to the 9th; 12.8” fell on the 9th alone.

Temperatures: It was the warmest April on record, the previous warmest being in 1938. [These are now shown as equal, with 1978 0.1C behind. All three were wet cloudy months]. Departures from normal were mainly 6F in the North Island and 5F in the South Island. In most districts April was appreciably warmer than March. Features of the month were the unusually high night temperatures and the uniform warmth, with an absence of cold spells.

Sunshine: Sunshine was below normal over the whole country, by more than 30 hours except in some eastern districts of the South Island. It was easily the cloudiest April on record in the Auckland Province. Rotorua’s 54 hours was the lowest recorded in New Zealand in April. [Matched by Invercargill in 1949; site exposure at Whakarewarewa deteriorated after about 1951 and the readings were not a good representative of the city. The totals at Westport and Hanmer were near average.]

[Some totals: Te Hapua 101, Kaitaia 106, Kerikeri 79, Whangarei 85, Auckland 96, Tauranga 80, Taupo 74, Hamilton 80, New Plymouth 123, Masterton 108, Gisborne 107, Napier 115, Paraparaumu 122, Ohakea 117, Palmerston Nth 94, Levin 112, Wellington 128, Wallaceville 125, Wanganui 125, Westport 137,  Hokitika 94, Greymouth 109, Haast 64 (**), Nelson 156, Blenheim 153, Grassmere 140, Hanmer 149, Mt Cook 74, Methven 126, Christchurch 98, Tekapo 129, Timaru 96, Waimate 89, Omarama 101, Dunedin Aero 109, Dunedin 96, Queenstown 100, Alexandra 124, Invercargill 94].

{** followed by a total of 166 in May!}

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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