THE RECENT STORM.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLVIII, Issue 10945, 17 June 1927, Page 4

THE RECENT STORM.

HEA.VY SNOW AT LAKE HERON. AN UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE. Bright sunny days have prevailed in the Mount Somers district since the cold storm early in the week, and although the frosts have been sharp they have not been so severe, as prior to the break in the weather. Although the snow is gradually getting away on the sunny slopes, there Las been no thaw on the shady sides of the hills, and while only a minor thaw has been experienced in the Ashburton Gorge, where the roads are a mass of snow and ice. Reports from Mesopotamia and Mount Potts show the snow was not near so heavy in those parts, about 9 inches being reported at Mount Potts. The position, however, is more serious toward Lake Heron, where two feet of snow is still reported' along the flats, while there is little hope for a thaw while frosty conditions prevail. An employee on the Lake Heron station, who brought a motor lorry from one of the back stations on Saturday for goods, had an unenviable trip returning in the snow, and after some hours of slow progress decided to camp at a wayside station for the night. Pushing cm with renewed energy early on Sunday morning, he got within ft few miles of his destination when the lorry became bogged, and had to be abandoned. The stores were reloaded and taken to the station per means of horses and draps when the snow subsided. The lorry was hauled sufficiently far down the Gorge, out of the deepest .snow, to enable it to make trips to Mt. Somers for stores, which are taken as far as travelling will permit in the snow, reloaded and packed to the station. Fourteen degrees of frost were registered on Tuesday morning, 13 on Wednesday, 9 yesterday, and i 0 this morning. Cold winds were blowing this morning, although the weather remains clear.