September 1981: September was dry and windy over most of the country. There were unprecedented numbers of south-westerly winds m both the north and south this month. Auckland had over 80 percent of its winds from a south-westerly direction and Invercargill over 50 percent; both are records for the last 25 years. The frequency of strong winds was also greater than usual over the whole country this month. Toe Auckland area suffered extensive damage to roofs and widespread power failures after strong winds on the 6th. Dry, windy conditions retarded spring growth in many eastern areas, leading to some feed shortages. Growth was better in areas with normal rainfall although low temperatures and lack of sunshine caused some lambing problems. Pressures were low over the whole country for the 4th consecutive month, particularly in southern and eastern areas.
Rainfall: Much of New Zealand had below average rainfall this month. Eastern coastal regions were particularly dry, with some areas around Gisborne, the Kaikoura Coast and south Canterbury coast having Jess than 25 percent of normal rainfall. Southland, Fiordland, parts of Westland and the Wanganui-King Country areas had above average rainfall for September. Parts of Southland had more than 200 percent of. normal rainfall. Many stations there reported an exceptionally high number of rain days, with 1.0 mm or more on 20 to 25 days, and some stations having only 2 or 3 days without any rain at all.
Some totals (mm): Milford Sound 752, Otria 675, Franz Josef 543, Manapouri 540, Arapito 397, Stewart Island 257, Taumarunui 183, Invercargill 173, Wanganui 82, Napier 21, Gisborne 17, Lake Grassmere 13, Lake Pukaki 11
Temperature: Temperatures in September were normal or close to normal over most of the country. The areas showing greatest departures were Wairarapa, Blenheim and North Qtago, which were 1.0 to 1.5C above average and Westland and Fiordland which were 1.0°
to 2.0°C below. During a cold spell between the 1st and 7th mean maximum and minimum temperatures were between 2° and 8°C below average. There were heavy snowfalls in Southland and Otago on the 6th, disrupting transport throughout both regions and closing the road to Milford Sound, isolating the settlement. Snow also fell at Rotorua for the first time in 17 years and at Taupo on the same day. This was followed by warm weather until the 10th with temperatures over 20°C recorded in some eastern areas. It was also milder during the last week of the month.
24.5°C maximum at at Temuka on the 19th,
-8.5°C minimum at Twizel on the 2nd.
Sunshine: The east coast of both islands and Wellington, Nelson and Marlborough provinces had between 10 and 50 hours more sunshine than usual for this month. Sunshine totals for Timaru and Christchurch were the second highest for September since 1958, both having been exceeded in September 1980. The rest of the country had below average sunshine with greatest deficits occurring in Invercargill, Westport, Ohakea and Hamilton.
[Some totals: Kaitaia 179, Waitangi 169, Whangarei 152, Leigh 133, Auckland 144, Tauranga 160, Whakatane 158, Rotorua 144, Taupo 139, Auckland Aero 137, Hamilton 113, New Plymouth 152, Masterton , Dannevirke 137, Gisborne 189, Napier 185, Wairoa 179, Paraparaumu 185, Ohakea n/a, Palmerston North n/a, Levin 136, Wellington 186, Stratford n/a, Wanganui 131, Westport 107, Arapito 89, Hokitika 126, Greymouth 100, Nelson 215, Blenheim 212, Grassmere 203, Kaikoura 203, Mt Cook 106, Methven 193, Christchurch 204, Timaru 187, Oamaru Aero 166, Omarama 187, Palmerston 170, Dunedin Aero 141, Dunedin 128, Te Anau 129, Queenstown 154, Cromwell 181, Alexandra 162, Gore 123, Invercargill 105]
Sources: NZ Met. Misc. pub. 107 (Climatological table, NZ Gazette) and NZ Met. Misc. pub. 107 (Meteorological Observations).
Share Topic
April 19, 2012, 07:27:35 PM