NZ weather summary January 1983

[Rwood]

January 1983:  January was cool and dry in the North Island and the north and east of the South Island, and cold and wet in the south and west of the South Island. South-westerly winds were unusually frequent in the north this month. 83% of all winds at Auckland were from this quarter, the highest equal for any month (records from 1956). North-westerly winds were most frequent in the south, with the highest frequency since 1964 at Invercargill. A tornado on the 19th caused damage estimated at $2 million to $3 million to houses in the Christchurch suburb of Halswell. It formed on the leading edge of a frontal squall and damage, though severe, was limited to an area approximately 400m by 100m. A hailstorm accompanying the squall produced hailstones up to 4cm in diameter and caused damage estimated at $10 million to crops, market gardens, glasshouses and vehicles in the Christchurch area. Low rainfall, gusty winds and warm afternoon temperatures led to several large bushfires on the Coromandel peninsula. A major forest fire risk developed in the north of the North Island.

Rainfall: January was drier than usual over the whole of the North Island except parts of Taranaki and some central areas, where rainfalls were normal or slightly above. Gisborne and Wellington were very dry, receiving less than 20% of their normal, while most of Hawkes Bay and Wairarapa had between 20% and 30% of normal. Northern and eastern areas of the South Island had normal or less than normal rainfall, while southern and western areas were very wet. South Westland, Fiordland and Southland had 200%-300% of normal rainfall. Milford Sound recorded 1588mm, its highest January fall (records from 1930), and established a new record 72hr fall of 741mm for the 9th-12th. The rain in southwestern areas between the 9th and 15th led to flooding in Queenstown and Te Anau when lake levels became extremely high. Lake Wakatipu reached its highest level since 1878 and business premises in low-lying areas were flooded. In Te Anau the lake reached its highest level since 1957 and the wharf, coffee bar and tourist centre were flooded. In the week 9th-15th 330mm fell at Manapouri and 1000mm at Milford Sound, and falls were almost certainly higher in mountain catchment areas for the lakes.

Some totals (mm): Hokitika 355, Cropp Waterfall 1620, Mt Cook 690, Wanaka 124, Te Anau 228, Queenstown 140, Invercargill 213, Stewart Island 322; Waitangi 14, Gisborne 11, Napier 12, Wairoa 6, Kelburn 15, Kaikoura 8, Templeton 9.

Temperatures: Temperatures were below normal except around Blenheim and on the Marlborough coast, where it was slightly warmer than usual. In the North Island, temperatures were 0.5C-1.0C below normal in the north and east, and 1.0C-2.0C below normal in central and western areas. Taumarunui had its lowest January mean temperature since recordings began in 1947. In the South Island areas in the south and west were 1.5C-3.0C cooler than usual while most other areas were between normal and 1.0C below normal. On the 10th-11th temperatures in eastern districts exceeded 30C. On the 11th, Tauranga Airport (33.7C) and Kawerau (37.0C) had record maxima (records from 1913 and 1955 respectively).

37.0C maximum at Kawerau on the 11th, -1.4C minimum at Naseby on the 24th.

Sunshine:  January was sunny in the North Island and the north and east of the South Island. Some high totals were recorded in eastern areas this month, with departures of 70 hrs at Kaikoura, 64 hrs at Tauranga, 58 hrs at Christchurch and 53 hrs at Gisborne. Highest totals were 303 at Blenheim and 301 at Gisborne. Apart from western areas, the rest of the North Island and the north and east of the South Island had between 20 and 50 hours more sunshine than average. Western and southern areas of the South Island were very cloudy; among the largest departures were those at Greymouth (-65 hrs) and Invercargill (-53 hrs).

[Some totals: Kaitaia 275, Waitangi 257, Whangarei 263, Leigh 266, Auckland 249, Tauranga 260, Whakatane 255, Rotorua 276, Taupo 257, Auckland Aero 247, Hamilton 267, New Plymouth 247, Masterton n/a, Dannevirke 242, Gisborne 301, Napier 286, Wairoa 298, Paraparaumu 231, Ohakea 255, Palmerston North 210, Levin 206, Wellington 270, Stratford 249, Wanganui 238, Westport 153, Arapito 138, Hokitika 167, Greymouth 125, Nelson 290, Blenheim 303, Grassmere 280, Kaikoura 287, Mt Cook 134, Methven 251, Christchurch 268, Timaru 200, Oamaru Aero 175, Omarama 222, Palmerston 166, Dunedin Aero 166, Dunedin 139, Te Anau 157, Queenstown 185, Cromwell 223, Alexandra 180, Gore 130, Invercargill 132, Campbell Is 46 {lowest}].

Sources: NZ Met. Misc. pub. 107 (Climatological table, NZ Gazette) and NZ Met. Misc. pub. 109 (Meteorological Observations).

• Tweet

[ato2]

Thanks for that, RWood. This is one of the years I was away from NZ and I recall letters from home talking about that January.

[Rwood]

It was a "busy" month for sure. Plenty of fine warm days in the northern and eastern places, but very poor in the wetter ones. Central Otago was a bit of a writeoff (we were there for about 3 weeks) with cool changeable conditions and much less sun than usual.