NZ weather summary May 1982

[Rwood]

May 1982:  Generally sunny and a little milder than usual. Northwesterly winds were more frequent in the south, where there were also more strong winds than usual. Winds in the north of the country were unusually light. Late autumn growth was generally good in the North Island, but some southern and eastern areas were too dry. Low rainfall also affected eastern areas of the South Island. Heavy rain in parts of Westland and Southland led to pugging of pastures and slips on some properties. A small tornado caused minor damage in Otahuhu, Auckland on the 14th.

Rainfall: Apart from areas of Manawatu and Taranaki all of the North Island and the north and east of the South Island had less rainfall than normal for May. Eastern areas were particularly dry, with some stations around Napier and Kaikoura having less than 20% of normal. Westland, Fiordland, Southland and Otago were wetter than usual, with some areas to the south and inland recording twice their usual rainfalls. Snow fell to low levels in the South Island on the 22nd-23rd, causing some road closures.

Some totals: Otira 774 mm, Milford 924mm, Mt Cook 690mm, Queenstown 186mm, Invercargill 189mm (3rd highest), Hastings 24mm, Waipara 12mm.

Temperatures: Mean temperatures were above average by 1C-2C in eastern and southern areas of the South Island and by up to 1C for the rest of the South Island and northern and southern areas of the North Island. Central and eastern areas of the North Island were up to 1C colder than usual. A warm spell between the 7th and 11th with westerly or northwesterly winds gave mean daily temperatures up to 6C above average at times and many stations, especially in the south and east, recorded maxima of 20C or higher. Temperatures were again high in eastern areas on the 19th-20th. A maximum of 24.6C at Kaikoura was the highest there since records began in 1964.

25.5C maximum at Kaikoura Flats on the 20th, -7.1C minimum at Ophir on the 5th.

Sunshine:  Sunshine hours were normal or above normal except in south Westland and Southland. Some eastern areas were particularly sunny. Departures exceeded 30 hours at Gisborne, Napier and Timaru. Ohakea also had its 2nd sunniest May since records began in 1954.

[Some totals: Kaitaia 164, Dargaville 143, Waitangi 152, Auckland 163, Tauranga 180, Whakatane 182, Rotorua 163, Hamilton 154, New Plymouth 159, Masterton 141, Dannevirke 119, Gisborne 183, Napier 188, Ohakea 164, Palmerston North 123, Wellington 144, Stratford 140, Wanganui 159, Westport 90, Hokitika 90, Greymouth 81, Nelson 172, Blenheim 182, Kaikoura 167, Mt Cook 87, Methven 145, Christchurch 151, Timaru 161, Oamaru Aero 141, Omarama 153, Dunedin 107, Queenstown 79, Cromwell 148, Alexandra 133, Gore 90, Invercargill 69.]

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

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