January 1979: Pressures were slightly above normal over the North Island, but exceptionally low to the south of New Zealand during January. Winds were mainly westerly, stronger in the south than in the north of the country. Most of the country had warm, dry, sunny conditions, apart from areas on the West Coast, Otago and Southland which were cooler and wetter than normal. Dry conditions affected grass growth in many parts of the North Island.
Rainfall: The only areas with rainfall above normal for the month were parts of Westland, Fiordland, Otago and Southland. Some districts in Southland were above by more than 150%. In parts of Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay, Taranaki, Wairarapa, Wellington and Canterbury, many stations had less than 25% of the month’s average. Some inland stations in Bay of Plenty and southern Hawkes Bay had less than 5% of the usual rainfall. Rangitaiki had no rainfall, and the 9mm at Christchurch Airport was its lowest there for January since 1954. A partial state of emergency was declared in Mataura on the 27th, when the Waimumu stream threatened to overflow its banks. Continuous heavy rain on the 26th and 27th caused many rivers in Southland to rise rapidly. The Te Anau-Milford road was closed, and the railway line between Dipton and Benmore was scoured out in places. At Gore 84mm were recorded from 5pm on the 26th to 9am on the 28th.
Some monthly totals (mm): Milford 1321, Queenstown 138, Invercargill 183; Albert Park 9, Edgecumbe 3, Waipukurau 5, Grassmere 6, Tekapo 8.
Temperatures: The only areas with below normal temperatures were the West Coast, Otago and Southland, where deficits were as much as 0.5C-1.0C. Over the rest of New Zealand mean temperatures were above normal by at least 1C. In some eastern districts of both islands they were above by 1.5C-2.0C. On the 11th temperatures were considerably higher than usual in Poverty Bay and Hawkes Bay. The maximum of 38.1C at Gisborne was the highest for January since the station began in 1938. Christchurch Airport recorded 35.9C on the 21st, its highest for January (records from 1954). Wairoa had 7 days with maxima above 30C.
38.9C maximum at Ruatoria on the 11th,
-0.4C minimum at Naseby on the 30th.
Sunshine: Sunshine hours were above normal over the whole country apart from the West Coast where they were slightly below. Many areas had between 30 and 60 hours more sunshine than usual. At Gisborne Airport the total of 316 hours was its highest for January. One of the largest departures above normal occurred at Christchurch Airport which had more than 30% excess, and the highest total for January since 1957 there.
[Some totals: Kaitaia 291, Dargaville 250, Waitangi 265, Whangarei 249, Auckland 276, Tauranga 295, Whakatane 310, Rotorua 307, Taupo 285, Hamilton 253, New Plymouth 275, Masterton 261, Dannevirke 251, Gisborne 316, Napier 292, Wairoa 307, Paraparaumu 241, Ohakea 263, Palmerston North 212, Levin 198, Wellington 267, Stratford 258, Wanganui 257, Westport 201, Hokitika 190, Greymouth 153, Riwaka 319, Nelson 306, Blenheim 300, Grassmere 266, Kaikoura 293, Mt Cook 203, Mt John 305, Methven 266, Christchurch 279, Tekapo 295, Timaru 179, Oamaru Aero 209, Omarama 294, Palmerston 208, Dunedin 202, Te Anau 239, Queenstown 254, Alexandra 259, Gore 190, Invercargill 191,
Chatham Is 245 (2nd highest)].
Sources: NZ Met. Misc. pub. 107 (Climatological table, NZ Gazette) and NZ Met. Misc. pub. 109 (Meteorological Observations).
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February 17, 2012, 07:33:36 AM