Predicting Weather By The Moon - Xavier University Libraries

Weather By The Moon
As expected, 19-years later another bad-weather system
passed up and over NZ from the south, moving from
the 9th to lie across the north by the 11th. Was there bad
weather that day in Wellington? The records show 47.5mm
fell on the 9th April 1987,
with 21.8mm the next day.
This time the wind was not
vicious, being from the NW
on the 9th but changing to
the south by the 10th, too
late to do any damage.
This system of predicting
ahead using the 19year
moon cycle must also
take note of the wild card -
the Perigee. In 1949 the
April Perigee was on the
12th and the Full moon on
the 13th, in April 1968 both
Full Moon and Perigee were
on 14th, but the perigee of
April 1987 was not till
the18th. Furthermore, in
April 1949 the Perigee was
the 4th closest for the year
whereas Perigee of April
1968 was the 5th closest, and that for April 1987 the 11th
closest. The latter was a day that did produce a southerly
change, but being only the 11th closest approach of the
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