December 1978: December was the first month since July with pressures below normal over the whole of New Zealand. Winds were predominantly westerly during the month, with a period of strong northwest winds on the 21st-22nd. Most of the country experienced warm, dry, sunny conditions, but some areas in the South Island were slightly wetter than usual. Some rain early in the month produced good grass growth, but towards the end of the month conditions were becoming dry.
Rainfall: The only areas with rainfall appreciably above normal were Canterbury, Otago and parts of Southland. Parts of Poverty Bay and Hawkes Bay had less than 50% of their normal rainfall. In Canterbury and Otago some districts had more than double the usual December total. The highest totals were in the Christchurch and Banks Peninsula area. Christchurch Airport had its highest December total since the station began in 1943. On the 10th heavy rain caused flooding in parts of South Canterbury and North Otago. Snow was reported in Central Otago down to 1300m. At Naseby snow was lying to a depth of 7.5cm. Roads south of Timaru were flooded when 28mm of rain fell in the period from 1pm on the 10th to 5am on the 11th. Areas of Canterbury had a severe thunderstorm on the afternoon of the 10th, during which 13mm was recorded in 10 minutes at Christchurch. Between noon and 1pm on the 10th a severe thunderstorm passed over the Wellington area, and 16mm was measured at Kelburn in this period. A 10-minute fall of more than 12mm was measured, which has been exceeded only once before since the station began in 1928, and this occurred in 1935.
Some monthly totals (mm): Whenuapai 133, Kelburn 116, Christchurch Aero 149, Orari 158, Waimate 184, Dunedin 141, Raoul Is 571; Gisborne 36, Napier 44, Kaikoura 33, Wanaka 29.
Temperatures: Temperatures were above normal by 0.5C over most of the country, and only slightly below in parts of Nelson, Canterbury, Otago, and Southland. There were 3 warm spells during the month, from the 3rd-8th, 17th-20th and from the 27th to the end of the month. Maximum temperatures were above normal by 4C to 10C on the 18th and 19th on the east coasts of both islands. Greatest departures were in Wellington, Canterbury, Otago and Southland. Kelburn’s 26.5C maximum on the 18th was its highest December reading since one of 29.1C in December 1948.
31.1C maximum at Gisborne on the 29th,
-1.2C minimum at Molesworth on the 11th.
Sunshine: The only areas with sunshine hours considerably below normal were parts of the West Coast, South Canterbury, Otago and Southland. Many parts of the North Island had 30-50 hours above normal, but some areas of Otago and Southland were below normal by the same amount.
[Some totals: Kaitaia 251, Dargaville 238, Whangarei 229, Leigh 262, Auckland 255, Tauranga 240, Whakatane 232, Rotorua 252, Taupo 235, Auckland Aero 275, Hamilton 224, Te Kuiti 191, Taumarunui 201, New Plymouth 275, Masterton 214, Dannevirke 187, Gisborne 288, Napier 252, Wairoa 272, Paraparaumu 239, Ohakea 253, Palmerston North 192, Wellington 260, Manaia 234, Wanganui 222, Westport 176, Hokitika 186, Greymouth 146, Riwaka 234, Nelson 234, Blenheim 250, Grassmere 234, Kaikoura 204, Mt Cook 164, Mt John 232, Methven 196, Christchurch 202, Tekapo 219, Timaru 159, Oamaru Aero 145, Omarama 222, Palmerston 118, Dunedin Aero 153, Dunedin 134, Te Anau 206, Queenstown 215, Alexandra 242, Gore 166, Invercargill 159].
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