February 1979: During February pressures were below normal over the whole of New Zealand, and were very low to the south of the country. Over the North Island there was a greater frequency than usual of both westerly and south-easterly winds. In the South Island westerly winds prevailed and were considerably stronger than normal for the month. The only February with a higher frequency of strong winds in recent years occurred in 1965. Over most of the North Island it was a cloudy wet month, but in the South Island it was drier than usual, and sunnier in some parts. On the 3rd and 4th cyclone Henry moved down the west coast of the North Island, and gale force winds were recorded in Northland and Auckland. Cape Reinga had a maximum gust of 92 knots on the 3rd. Rain during the middle of the month improved grass growth in most areas that had been experiencing dry conditions for the previous 2 months.
Rainfall: Areas in the North Island with below normal rainfall were parts of Northland, Poverty Bay, Taranaki, Manawatu, Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa and Wellington. In Northland, Auckland, Bay of Plenty, and northern Hawkes Bay totals were above normal by at least 100%. The only areas with above normal rainfall in the South Island were parts of Nelson, Marlborough, inland Otago, Fiordland, and a few isolated areas in Canterbury and Southland. On the 4th and 5th heavy rain was recorded in the Bay of Plenty. In many places between 150mm and 200mm fell in a 48 hour period to 9am on the 6th, with over 230mm at Matahina. Torrential rain caused major flooding in the Auckland area on the 17th and 18th. Roads were blocked and many motorists were stranded. The heaviest falls were between noon and 8pm on the 17th. At Albert Park 142mm were recorded in the 24 hours to 9am on the 18th. The previous highest one-day fall for February at this station was 162mm in 1936. Nearly 108mm were recorded in 6 hours, and 133mm in 12 hours, and 133mm in 12 hours during the afternoon of the 17th.
Some monthly totals (mm): Albert Park 230, Te Puke 295, Kawerau 329, Hamilton 184, Wairoa 202, Milford 687; New Plymouth Aero 59, Nelson 42, Waimate 38, Palmerston 10, Alexandra 14.
Temperatures: Temperatures were below or near normal throughout the whole country, the only areas slightly above being parts of Poverty Bay, Taranaki and Canterbury. In Bay of Plenty, Westland and Fiordland they were below by nearly 1C. The last 8 days of the month were unusually cold, with maximum temperatures on the 20th, 22nd and 23rd between 4C and 7C below normal.
35.3C maximum at Darfield on the 3rd,
-1.0C minimum at Ophir on the 10th.
Sunshine: The only areas with sunshine hours above average were Westland, parts of Nelson, Canterbury and inland Otago. Christchurch had 30 hours more sunshine than normal, but Waitomo and King Country up to 60 hours less. Other districts with appreciably less sunshine than usual were Bay of Plenty, Poverty Bay, Hawkes Bay, Manawatu and Horowhenua.
[Some totals: Kaitaia 158, Dargaville 134, Waitangi 142, Whangarei 153, Auckland 146, Tauranga 163, Whakatane 180, Rotorua 170, Taupo 150, Hamilton 149, New Plymouth 179, Masterton 163, Dannevirke 135, Gisborne 170, Napier 159, Wairoa 166, Paraparaumu 164, Ohakea 185, Palmerston North 144, Levin 152, Wellington 183, Stratford 152, Wanganui 193, Westport 181, Hokitika 179, Greymouth 142, Riwaka 235, Nelson 235, Blenheim 215, Grassmere 202, Kaikoura 193, Mt Cook 165, Mt John 235, Methven 214, Christchurch 214, Tekapo 232, Timaru 160, Oamaru Aero 164, Omarama 205, Palmerston 168, Dunedin 143, Te Anau 188, Queenstown 196, Alexandra 212, Gore 159, Invercargill 150].
Sources: NZ Met. Misc. pub. 107 (Climatological table, NZ Gazette) and NZ Met. Misc. pub. 109 (Meteorological Observations).
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February 17, 2012, 07:33:36 AM