Showing the Rainfall in the North and South Islands of New Zealand complied from the earliest Observations to the present date, 1867.
Place. | Mean Annual Rainfall. |
Average of Rainfall for the different Seasons of the Year, with the Mean Number of Days of Rain. | Mean Number of Days on which Rain falls annually. |
Period of Observations | |||||||
Spring. (Sept., Oct., Nov.) |
Summer. (Dec., Jan., Feb.) |
Autumn. (Mar., April, May.) |
Winter. (June, July, Aug.) | ||||||||
North Island | Inches. | Inches. | Days. | Inches. | Days. | Inches. | Days. | Inches. | Days. | Days. | |
Auckland | 44.682 | 11.031 | 45 | 8.378 | 27 | 11.009 | 37 | 14.265 | 56 | 177 | 15 years |
Taranaki | 58.584 | 17.088 | 42 | 10.974 | 27 | 14.133 | 30 | 17.190 | 47 | 146 | 12{{{1}}}„ |
Wellington | 50.091 | 12.148 | 35 | 9.085 | 27 | 12.660 | 33 | 16.021 | 46 | 146 | 10{{{1}}}„ |
Means for North Island | 51.119 | 13.422 | 40 | 9.679 | 27 | 12.602 | 33 | 15.828 | 49 | 156 | |
South Island | |||||||||||
Nelson | 54.721 | 16.476 | 28 | 13.211 | 17 | 8.795 | 19 | 14.551 | 23 | 92 | 16 years |
Christchurch* | 31.036 | 5.145 | 24 | 7.266 | 23 | 8.022 | 26 | 13.198 | 35 | 113 | 11{{{1}}}„ |
Dunedin | 32.886 | 8.129 | 44 | 9.428 | 41 | 7.943 | 38 | 7.253 | 36 | 178 | 15{{{1}}}„ |
Means for South Island | 39.474 | 10.006 | 32 | 9.968 | 27 | 8.253 | 27 | 11.665 | 31 | 127 | |
51.119 | 13.422 | 40 | 9.676 | 27 | 12.602 | 33 | 15.828 | 49 | 156 | ||
39.747 | 10.006 | 32 | 9.968 | 27 | 8.253 | 27 | 11.665 | 31 | 127 | ||
Means for both Islands | 45.433 | 11.714 | 36 | 9.823 | 27 | 10.427 | 30 | 13.746 | 35 | 141 |
* The monthly average for the amount of rain and the number of days of rainfall are only for eight years, while the mean annual fall and number of days are for the eleven years.
Note.—From the above it will be observed that Taranaki has the lightest average annual rainfall (58.584), and Nelson is the next (54.721), while the average means for Christchurch (31.636) and Dunedin (32.886) are the lowest; but while Dunedin has a much smaller annual fall of rain than the others, yet there are a greater number of days of rain yearly at that place than at any of the other stations; and although the mean fall for Nelson is one of the lightest averages, still the mean number of days of rain in that locality is the least of all. Taking these six stations, the annual rainfall and number of days of rain is greater in the North than in the South Island.