March 1978: March was the third consecutive month with pressures above normal over the whole of New Zealand. Winds were predominantly westerly over the whole country, stronger over the South Island than to the north of New Zealand. The month was sunny, warm and dry in most areas apart from the West Coast and parts of Southland. Rain at the beginning and towards the end of the month brought some relief to areas that had been experiencing drought conditions since the beginning of the year.
Rainfall: The only areas with above normal rainfall were the West Coast and parts of Southland and inland Otago. Some areas of Northland had less than 10% of their normal month’s rain, and many districts of both islands had only 25-50% of their normal rainfall. On the 3rd a severe thunderstorm in the Bay of Plenty brought heavy rain to the Tauranga area. Nearly 41mm was recorded in 30 minutes during the evening, and in the 24 hours to 9am on the 4th 133mm was recorded. A state of emergency was declared in the Haast area when rivers broke their banks on the 27th. Many families were evacuated and trampers trapped in huts. The area was isolated by land slips and surface flooding on roads. People were stranded in huts on the Milford Track. More than 370mm was recorded at McPherson Camp (Haast) in 24 hours during the 26/27th. 477mm fell in 48 hours from the 26th to 28th. At Milford Sound the heaviest falls were recorded between 4pm on the 26th and 9am on the 27th, with more than 395mm then. A 2-hour fall of 90mm was measured during the period of heaviest rain. A further 138mm fell between 8pm on the 27th and 6am on the 28th.
Some monthly totals (mm): Tauranga Aero 137, Otira 519, Franz Josef 563, Milford 1147, Queenstown 105; Waitangi 6, Albert Park 23, Taupo 7, Foxton 10, Riwaka 19, Oamaru Aero 12, Alexandra 17.
Temperatures: Temperatures were above normal over the whole of New Zealand with the exception of some districts on the West Coast. Most areas had temperatures of nearly 1C above normal, in Wairarapa they were above by nearly 2C, and in Canterbury by more than 2.5C in some areas. This was the 3rd consecutive month with temperatures appreciably above normal.
32.5C maximum at Earnscleugh on the 14th,
-4.0C minimum at Twizel on the 25th.
Sunshine: Most areas of New Zealand had more sunshine than normal, apart from some areas in Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Nelson and the West Coast which were slightly below. At the Oamaru the total was 60 hours above normal and many districts in Canterbury and parts of Hawkes Bay were above by more than 50 hours. The total sunshine for the first 3 months of the year, of 746 hours at Kelburn, is the highest since records began in Wellington in 1907.
[Some totals: Kaitaia 194, Dargaville 196, Waitangi 215, Whangarei 183, Auckland 208, Tauranga 199, Whakatane 214, Rotorua 207, Taupo 203, Hamilton 200, Taumarunui 181, New Plymouth 214, Masterton 210, Dannevirke 200, Gisborne 244, Napier 256, Wairoa 248, Paraparaumu 189, Ohakea 210, Palmerston North 201, Levin 192, Wellington 211, Stratford 193, Wanganui 212, Westport 175, Hokitika 164, Greymouth 155, Riwaka 213, Nelson 200, Blenheim 251, Grassmere 217, Kaikoura 195, Mt Cook 186, Mt John 262, Methven 226, Christchurch 221, Tekapo 260, Timaru 193, Oamaru Aero 210, Omarama 259, Palmerston 201, Dunedin 176, Te Anau 182, Queenstown 221, Alexandra 230, Gore 165, Invercargill 149].
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