April 1983: April was a cloudy, wet month for most of the country except in parts of the South Island. South-westerly winds were less frequent than usual this month, particularly at Auckland which had the lowest number of winds from this direction for April since 1971. Pressures were above normal over the whole country, particularly in eastern areas. Mild, wet conditions let to the easing of the drought conditions that had prevailed for several months in northern and eastern areas of the country.
Rainfall: Rainfall was normal or above normal over the whole country except Fiordland, Southland, some central areas of the North Island and Wairarapa. Most of these areas had between 70% and 90% of normal rainfall. Flooding occurred in parts of Nelson, Marlborough and northern Westland after heavy rainfall on the 14th and 15th. Many stations in these areas had between 125mm and 200mm of rain during the 14th with further, lighter falls on the 15th. Return periods for the 24-hour falls were mostly of the order of 5-10 years, with 50 years for the fall at Wangapeka. Houses were flooded in Karamea and Market Cross when the Karamea River overflowed, and in Canvastown when the Pelorus and Whakamarina rivers overflowed. Low-lying farmlands were extensively flooded, and several roads were closed by floods or slips.
Some totals (mm): Kaitaia 230, Tauranga 205, North Egmont 960, Gisborne 179, Kelburn 190, Hokitika 389, Cropp Hutt 1142, Riwaka 234, Rai Valley 480, Timaru 116, Hawea 132; Waiouru 59, Milford 367, Te Anau 57.
Temperatures: Temperatures were normal or above normal for the North Island, apart from Wellington, where it was slightly cooler than usual, and normal or above normal in the north and north-east of the South Island. Southern and western areas of the South Island were 0.5C-1.0C below normal. There were two very warm spells this month, mainly affecting eastern areas of the South Island. Between the 6th and 8th mean temperatures were 5C-8C above average in eastern areas south of Kaikoura. Maxima of 25C or above were recorded around Christchurch, Hororata, Timaru and Dunedin. Mean temperatures were 4C-6C above normal in the same areas again on the 11th-12th, with maxima above 25C around Christchurch.
28.5C maximum at Temuka on the 7th,
-5.6C minimum at Twizel on the 10th.
Sunshine: Sunshine hours were normal or slightly above normal in parts of Canterbury and in Southland, but below normal elsewhere. Northern and eastern areas of the North Island were particularly cloudy. Tauranga and Ruakura had their lowest April totals since 1956 and second lowest since recording began in 1933 and 1937 respectively, while Ohakea and Auckland Airport had their lowest April totals on record, recording from 1954 and 1970 respectively. Among stations recording the largest departures were: Tauranga (-69 hrs), Rotorua (-66 hrs), Hamilton (-60 hrs), Auckland (-55 hrs), and Gisborne (-51 hrs).
[Some totals: Kaitaia 119, Waitangi 89, Whangarei 99, Leigh 124, Auckland 108, Tauranga 101, Whakatane 114, Rotorua 107, Taupo 107, Auckland Aero 99, Hamilton 97, New Plymouth 128, Masterton 107, Dannevirke n/a, Gisborne 115, Napier 137, Wairoa 120, Paraparaumu 137, Ohakea 115, Palmerston North 107, Levin 130, Wellington 121, Stratford 117, Wanganui 109, Westport 126, Arapito 132, Hokitika 117, Greymouth 109, Nelson 151, Blenheim 161, Grassmere 148, Kaikoura 153, Mt Cook 92, Methven 149, Christchurch 154, Timaru 137, Oamaru Aero 143, Omarama 152, Palmerston 136, Dunedin Aero 101, Dunedin 106, Te Anau 120, Queenstown 119, Cromwell 140, Alexandra 145, Gore 110, Invercargill 111].
Sources: NZ Met. Misc. pub. 107 (Climatological table, NZ Gazette) and NZ Met. Misc. pub. 109 (Meteorological Observations).
Share Topic
April 19, 2012, 07:43:57 PM