August 1979: August was the first month since February this year that pressures were below normal over the whole of New Zealand. There were significantly fewer easterly winds over the northern part of the country than in the previous 2 months. In the south of the country westerly winds were markedly lighter than usual. Most of New Zealand experienced cloudy, wet, cool conditions throughout the month. Soil was reported to be very wet in many districts in the North Island and along the east coast of the South Island.
Rainfall: The only areas with rainfall totals below normal were parts of Northland, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Nelson, the West Coast and Southland. In Wairarapa and Canterbury some places had departures of between 50 and 100 percent above the monthly average. A complex depression brought heavy rain to many areas on the 14th/15th. Kaitaia had 34mm in 12 hours, and Kelburn 47mm in 24 hours. From the 21st to the 27th many districts in the North Island and parts of Canterbury had heavy rain as a depression moved slowly southwards across the country. Albert Park, Auckland had 45mm in 48 hours from the 21st to the 23rd (over 30mm in 6 hours), and Waingawa, Masterton had 55mm from the 24th to the 27th. Some airports were closed by heavy rain and low cloud on numerous occasions over a period of 4 days. At Kelburn there were 23 days in the month with more than 0.1mm of rain, the highest for August since 1941.
Some monthly totals (mm): Masterton 156, Hastings 128, Kelburn 203, Westport 241, Hanmer 319, Ashburton 127, Dunedin 89; Whangarei 75, Milford 284, Gore 37.
Temperatures: After a mild June and July, August temperatures were cooler than usual over most of New Zealand, except for parts of Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Nelson and Marlborough. The greatest departures were on the West Coast, Otago and Southland where temperatures were about 1C below normal. Daytime maxima were considerably cooler in most areas. There was one long cold spell from the 15th-22nd inclusive when mean daily temperatures were 1C-2C below average.
23.0C maximum at Whakatane on the 30th,
-11.0C minimum at Molesworth on the 8th.
Sunshine: The only areas with above normal sunshine were Poverty Bay, parts of Hawkes Bay and the West Coast. In Taranaki, Manawatu, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago there were 30-40 hours less sunshine than usual. At Palmerston North only 69 hours sunshine were recorded for the month, this being the lowest for August since the station began in 1931.
[Some totals: Kaitaia 158, Waitangi 157, Whangarei 132, Auckland 132, Tauranga 158, Whakatane 161, Rotorua 138, Taupo 115, Te Kauwhata 134, Hamilton 129, New Plymouth 117, Masterton 92, Dannevirke 92, Gisborne 152, Napier 156, Wairoa 155, Paraparaumu 110, Ohakea 107, Palmerston North 69, Levin 81, Wellington 98, Stratford 83, Wanganui 95, Westport 142, Hokitika 160, Greymouth 137, Riwaka 145, Nelson 148, Blenheim 162, Grassmere 152, Kaikoura 112, Mt Cook 109, Mt John 147, Methven 106, Christchurch 100, Tekapo 140, Timaru 114, Oamaru Aero 117, Omarama 144, Palmerston 107, Dunedin 86, Te Anau 116, Queenstown 97, Cromwell 132, Alexandra 126, Gore 112, Invercargill 111].
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