SUDDEN STORM.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18263, 23 December 1924, Page 11

SUDDEN STORM.

DOWNPOUR OP RAIN. With tropical suddenness, the city was deluged in a rainstorm last craning at a quarter past gov en. For half an hour thunder pealed, lightning flashed, and the rain came down in torrents, so that Jihe channds overflowed in many places and; the Square was soou surrounded by lagoons. The rain was intermittent during the rest of the night. Yesterday morning was fine and warm, and the optimistic proclaimed that the summer had shown its facet again, bat in tlte afternoon there was an ominous banking-tip of dark clouds in the south. The wind freshened towarcfa evening, and the storm was soon brought across. After one of the flashes of forklightning. which was particularly brilliant, the lights at the Railway- Station and in tho Cashmere Hillß district were extinguished, and the tramway power went off. The lightning had struck the Government "feeder" that runs over the hills to Lyttelton. The car» were only held up for about five minutes as the feeder "cleareditself,'' but i many Cashmere hoivs were without lights for a considerable time. The telegraph and telephone services were not interrupted. Heavy rain fell in Kaikoura last evening, and the result is that the Clarence ferry will not be in operation to-day, as had been hoped. The Automobile Association advised that_ there was no accommodation in Kaikoura yesterday, and that intending throughpassengers should wait till the punt was in commission again.