February 1955: It was a cloudy month, and also very warm, especially in the North Island. For many districts which had been experiencing dry conditions since Christmas plentiful rain, chiefly in the second half of the month, proved most beneficial to pastures. However, over a considerable part of the Auckland Province rainfall was inadequate for plant growth. There were two periods of particularly heavy rain over the north-western districts of the South Island and over the Tararua ranges, from the 16th to the 20th, and from the 24th to the 26th. On the first of these occasions there were serious floods in Marlborough. On both occasions there were serious floods in rivers rising in the Tararuas, and the West Coast was completely inaccessible by road.
Rainfall: Rainfall was more than double the normal value between Stratford and Taumarunui, over the western part of the Wellington Province as far north as Levin, and also over the northern half of the South Island where some exceptionally large totals were reported from the high country. The Auckland and Hawkes Bay provinces were drier than usual by at least 25% except in a few localities, including Auckland City, which were affected by excessive local downpours. Over most of the rest of the country there was a slight excess.
At Stockton opencast coal mine, northeast of Westport, the total rainfall of 68.7” was only 4” short of the highest monthly total ever recorded in New Zealand.
[These records were increased by a very large margin when sites such as North Egmont and various places in the Hokitika catchment were opened, the wettest one being Cropp River at “Waterfall”.]
There was an unusually heavy local downpour at Auckland City on the 5th, when amounts varying from 4” to 6” fell in the afternoon and early evening (5.18” at Albert Park), while a few miles away in the Waitakere ranges, there was little or no rain. A number of severe thunderstorms were reported from the Auckland province on the 9th and 10th. In one of these a house at Rotorua was struck by lightning and burnt to the ground.
Temperatures: For the greater part of the North Island mean temperatures were about 5F above normal, approximately the same as February 1935 and February 1938, the 2 warmest months on record. [Refer to Jan 1956 thread for monthly temperature record discussion.]
Temperatures were also well above normal in the South Island, departures ranging from 1F in the south to 3F in the north. The period from the 14th to the 20th was particularly warm and humid in the North Island.
[Albert Park’s monthly mean was 72.2F (22.3C), and its lowest minimum was 60.0F (15.5C)].
Sunshine: Sunshine was more than 20 hours below normal, except over the Auckland Peninsula, Westland, Western Otago and in parts of Southland. The deficiency exceeded 2 hours a day in Taranaki, over most of Wellington Province, and in South Canterbury. Masterton’s 133 hrs was a record low for February.
[Some totals: Te Hapua 203, Kaitaia 195, Kerikeri 202, Whangarei 181, Auckland 204, Tauranga 171, Taupo 166, Hamilton 158, New Plymouth 142, Masterton 133, Gisborne 186, Napier 173, Paraparaumu 131, Ohakea 179, Palmerston North 161, Wellington 148, Wanganui 167, Westport 168, Hokitika 158, Greymouth 150, Haast 127, Nelson 187, Blenheim 197, Grassmere 183, Mt Cook 147, Methven 131, Christchurch 145, Tekapo 194, Timaru 116, Waimate 92, Omarama 159, Queenstown 194, Dunedin 131, Alexandra 175, Invercargill 164].
Share Topic
March 25, 2018, 07:14:26 PM