August 1977: Pressures were higher than normal over New Zealand during August, and for the second month in succession exceptionally high to the south of the country.
This was the 3rd consecutive month with a marked absence of westerly winds and a predominance of winds from an easterly quarter. It was a cloudy, wet month in most areas east of the main ranges, except for the area south of Banks Peninsula; elsewhere it was generally drier than normal. Cold southerly winds on the 29th/30th brought the coldest spell of the month. There were short but heavy falls of snow in the Dunedin area on the 29th, and in Hawkes Bay and Wairarapa cold, wet weather at month’s end killed over 12,000 lambs. Farming conditions were otherwise satisfactory.
Rainfall: In the North Island rainfall was above normal in Coromandel, Poverty Bay, Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa and Wellington, in places by as much as 50-100%. In Northland, Auckland and parts of Waikato it was below normal by more than 50% in some areas. Most of the South Island had below normal rainfall with the exception of northern Canterbury, Nelson, and coastal Marlborough, which were above. Many places in Otago, Southland, Fiordland, Westland and Buller had less than 25% of their normal rainfall. Stations at Clyde and Alexandra recorded less than 0.5mm for the month. At Clyde the total rainfall of 24mm for winter is the lowest since 1907. This winter has been very dry in parts of Otago and Southland.
Some monthly totals (mm): Thames 154, Mt Bruce 250, Ruatoria 399, Gisborne 175, Napier 137, Wairoa 166, Kelburn 180, Wainuiomata 425, Kaikoura 163; Cape Reinga 48, Albert Park 70, Tauranga 67, Hamilton 70, Greymouth 55, Milford 196, Mt Cook 84, Tekapo 14, Wanaka 6, Dunedin 21, Queenstown 7,
Alexandra 0.4, Invercargill 25.
Temperatures: Temperatures were above normal over the whole country except in parts of Northland, Wellington and the Kaikoura Coast. Maximum temperatures were below normal in these latter areas but minimum temperatures were slightly above. During the cold spell at the end of the month low maximum temperatures were recorded at Kaikoura (5.2C), Kelburn (6.1C), and Masterton (7.2C) on the 29th.
20.7C maximum at Tauranga on the 25th,
-8.8C minimum at Moa Creek on the 4th.
Sunshine: Sunshine was above normal in the northern half of the North Island, parts of Canterbury, Southland, and the West Coast; elsewhere it was below normal. In Wairarapa, Wellington, Nelson, Marlborough and the Kaikoura Coast it was below normal by up to 35%. Wellington and Masterton recorded their lowest August sunshine totals since 1966 and 1965 respectively. Hokitika’s total of 179 hours was 25% above normal.
[Some totals: Kaitaia 176, Dargaville 150, Leigh 184, Auckland 167, Tauranga 171, Whakatane 180, Rotorua 160, Taupo 119, Auckland Aero 184, Hamilton 146, Taumarunui 94, New Plymouth 142, Masterton 82, Dannevirke 80, Gisborne 124, Napier 125, Paraparaumu 111, Ohakea 121, Palmerston North 105, Levin 126, Wellington 86, Stratford 109, Wanganui 128, Westport 149, Hokitika 179, Greymouth 150, Riwaka 129, Nelson 128, Blenheim 140, Kaikoura 117, Mt Cook 126, Mt John 191, Methven 153, Christchurch 127, Tekapo 165, Timaru 127, Oamaru Aero 121, Omarama 173, Palmerston 120, Dunedin 113, Te Anau 125, Queenstown 136, Alexandra 162, Gore 136, Invercargill 136, Chatham Is 73].
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