November 1978: Pressures were appreciably above normal over the whole of New Zealand in November. Winds were mainly westerly, stronger in the south than in the north of the country. On the 26th winds gusting to 48 knots closed Invercargill Airport and caused damage to power lines, wrecked hay barns and blew in windows in the city. Conditions were dry and sunny along the east coasts of both islands with temperatures slightly above normal in most areas. This was the first time for 6 months that Canterbury and Otago have had below normal rainfall. Ground conditions were becoming extremely dry in the northern half of the North Island.
Rainfall: Rainfall was below normal over most of New Zealand apart from some districts in the North Island which had heavy falls from the 11th to 13th. Parts of Northland and Poverty Bay were below normal by 75%, and many areas along the east coast by 50%. In central districts of the North Island many stations reported monthly totals of 50-100% above normal. On the 12th a civil emergency was declared at Ohura (King Country) when the Mangaroa River burst its banks. The river rose to 6 metres above normal and there was floodwater to a depth of 1.5 metres throughout the town. Many houses were evacuated and stock was moved to higher ground from low lying farmland. Surface flooding closed highways and railway lines north of Ohura were damaged by slips. At Taumarunui 84mm of rain was recorded in 24 hours on the 11th, and 129mm from midnight on the 10th to midnight on the 12th. At Uruti nearly 270mm fell in the 3 days 9am/10th-9am/13th.
Some monthly totals (mm): Taumarunui 173, Chateau 377, Milford 689, Invercargill 118; Whangarei Aero 19, Gisborne 23, Havelock North 8, Blenheim 23, Palmerston 18.
Temperatures: Temperatures were above of near normal over the whole country. In most districts of the North Island they were above by 0.5C and in the South Island by a greater margin. In parts of Otago they were above by more than 1.0C. There were two warm spells during the month; from 19th-24th and 27th-30th. On the 20th Dunedin Airport recorded a maximum of nearly 30C. At Christchurch Airport 31C was recorded on the 28th, the highest for November since 1957.
33.0C maximum at Roxburgh on the 30th,
-3.3C minimum at Mt John on the 16th.
Sunshine: Sunshine was above normal in most areas of the country. Kaitaia had 40 hours more than usual, and Kelburn nearly 50. Most other areas had between 10 and 25 hours more than normal.
[Some totals: Kaitaia 244, Dargaville 205, Waitangi 243, Whangarei 211, Auckland 223, Tauranga 225, Whakatane 217, Rotorua 228, Taupo 215, Hamilton 208, Taumarunui 184, New Plymouth 233, Masterton 242, Dannevirke 234, Gisborne 249, Napier 265, Wairoa 251, Paraparaumu 234, Ohakea 252, Palmerston North 200, Levin 184, Wellington 252, Stratford 212, Wanganui 236, Westport 193, Hokitika 184, Greymouth 167, Riwaka 274, Nelson 266, Blenheim 259, Grassmere 217, Kaikoura 228, Mt Cook 171, Mt John 287, Methven 232, Christchurch 232, Tekapo 285, Timaru 204, Oamaru Aero 202, Omarama 258, Palmerston 207, Dunedin 204, Te Anau 244, Queenstown 224, Alexandra 256, Gore 215, Invercargill 196, Campbell Is 60 (3rd equal lowest)].
Sources: NZ Met. Misc. pub. 107 (Climatological table, NZ Gazette) and NZ Met. Misc. pub. 109 (Meteorological Observations).
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February 15, 2012, 01:09:57 PM