THE WEATHER.
YESTERDAY'S GALE,
In Canterbury district yesterday a hot nor'-west wind was forcing vegetation, and if rain and frost follows it ia expected that the early blossom on the plum, peach and pear trees may suffer. Tbe gale yesterday was severely felt towards evening in Christchurch, clouds of dust being swept over the city. Our Ashburton correspondent writes :— A very fierce nor'-west gale raged over the Ashburton town and district on .Friday. During the whole of the day dense masses of dust from the roads aud soil from- the, newly-rolled paddocks swept in one continuous cloud over the town. It was so dense at times that one could scarcely see acres* the road. In fact, as the express train was passing Diouiore, the clouds of dust and soil rendered it so dark that passengers could not distinguish each other the letigih of the carriage. A similar state of affairs prevailed as the afternoon tram was passing the same spot. A little further on spiral clouds of soil could be seen rising from the paddocks and sweeping in dense masses away over the plains. It was the wcrst and most destructive blow experienced for many years and very serious damage has been done to scores of wheat fields. The full force of the gale was felt at the Rakaia during the fore part of the day, but towards evening there was a lull and tbe atmosphere became clear. From 9.30 a.m. on Friday the whole of this district (writes our Malvern correspondent) was enveloped in an immense storm of dust, raised by a nor'-west gale from the cropped land and riverbeds. All outside labour was most, effectually stopped, and travelling was an impossibility on the roads. The dust inside the houses is a sight, and will take hours to remove. It is feared that a great deal of damage will be done to crops, but this cannot yet be ascertained, as there was no sign of the storm abating when the mail left, a few yards being as far as can be seen in any one" direction. The dust storm is tho worst experienced here for many years.
Owing to the gale and dust storm the mail coach to Bealey was unable to leave Springfield yesterday. Heavy rain was falling at Bealey.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP18980924.2.55
Bibliographic details
Press, Volume LV, Issue 10150, 24 September 1898, Page 9
Word Count
382
THE WEATHER.
Press, Volume LV, Issue 10150, 24 September 1898, Page 9
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Christchurch City Libraries.
Log in