April 1977: Pressures were lower than normal over the whole country, with a predominance of winds from a southerly quarter. Temperatures were comparatively warm during the first half of the month but there were some wintry spells during the latter half. Conditions were dry in Northland, Bay of Plenty and parts of Canterbury, but farmers in the North Island reported good grass growth until cold temperatures checked growth later in the month.
Rainfall: Rainfall was below normal over most of the country with the exception of parts of Taranaki, Poverty Bay, Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa and Wellington in the North Island. In the South Island it was above normal in some areas of Westland, Canterbury, Otago, and most of Fiordland and Southland. Milford Sound had nearly double its normal rainfall. A small complex depression passed eastwards over the Wellington area on the 10th-11th and very heavy rainfalls were recorded in a narrow band from Titahi Bay to Lower Hutt. 134mm was recorded at Linden in 48 hours, the majority of the rain falling between 11pm on the 10th and 5pm on the 11th. On the 16th and 17th heavy rain in northern Hawkes Bay caused major flooding in Wairoa. The town was isolated when slips, washouts and floodwaters closed main highways and cut communications for 24 hours. Similar conditions were experienced to those which caused major flooding in this area on the 23rd-24 February this year. More than 290mm was recorded at Wairoa in a 48 hour period up to 9am on the 17th.
Some monthly totals (mm): Cape Reinga 42, Whakatane 48, Blenheim 26, Christchurch 33, Palmerston 18; Napier 136, Wairoa (Frasertown) 257, Wainuiomata 267, Milford 996, Invercargill 180.
Temperatures: Mean temperatures were close to normal over most of the country. Some areas in Bay of Plenty, Poverty Bay, and the central North Island were slightly below normal, but coastal Otago and Southland were as much as 1C above normal. There were two cold spells, on the 21st/22nd and 27th/28th, when maximum temperatures were well below normal. Several inland Canterbury stations recorded temperatures below freezing on the 27th.
30.2C maximum at Hororata on the 9th,
-5.1C minimum at Lake Rotoiti on the 22nd.
Sunshine: Most of the country had above or near normal sunshine hours for the month. Parts of Auckland, Waikato and Southland were slightly below normal, the only area significantly below being inland Otago where some stations recorded 20 hours below normal.
[Some totals: Kaitaia 164, Dargaville 149, Whangarei 157, Auckland 176, Tauranga 213, Whakatane 213, Rotorua 199, Taupo 184, Hamilton 169, Taumarunui 135, New Plymouth 181, Masterton 174, Dannevirke 154, Gisborne 182, Napier 177, Wairoa 181, Palmerston North 136, Levin 155, Wellington 176, Stratford 166, Wanganui 153, Westport 163, Hokitika 150, Greymouth 137, Riwaka 200, Nelson 194, Blenheim 214, Kaikoura 180, Mt Cook 106, Methven 157, Christchurch 166, Tekapo 149, Timaru 146, Oamaru 140, Omarama 144, Palmerston 133, Dunedin Aero 134, Dunedin 119, Queenstown 113, Alexandra 139, Gore 124, Invercargill 102, Raoul Is 194].
Sources: NZ Met. Misc. pub. 107 (Climatological table, NZ Gazette) and NZ Met. Misc. pub. 109 (Meteorological Observations).
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February 14, 2012, 03:56:45 PM