SNOW AND HAIL

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23741, 12 September 1942, Page 4

SNOW AND HAIL

GENERAL CHANGE IN PROVINCE MINOR LAMB LOSSES REPORTED The long spell of mild weather m Canterbury was broken locally o Thursday night by light s now and heavy hailstorms, accompanied by a cold south-wester. Much less than an inch of rain had been recorded, in many districts in the six weeks syice the beginning of August, and althoug! this was ideal for the sowing of cereal crops and lambing, farmers m some districts were becoming apprehensiv at the continued lack of ram. The break in the country "“fj™ Wednesday, and although it will mean lambing losses and damage to P r ® maturely-flowering fruit trees and the nipping back of early potatoes from the frosts that are almost ' :ertalb follow, it is expected to have some compensating factors m stimulating grass and cereal grow 4 } l ;,, , „., „ B Thursday night was bitterly cold, a south-westerly with frequent hailstorms and falls of snow creating conditions that suggested a heavy loss.of lambs. However, reports from a number of country districts indicate that the hailstorms were lighter than on the coast, and that although the cold conditions were general, losses except in one or two districts, would be small, The lambing is well advanced m the northern part of the province, and down country it is now at its peaK. While losses in some districts are reported to be small, in others they are described as negligible. The dry condition of the ground surface and the quick disappearance of the intermittent snowfalls helped in this result. Lambing on the high country will not commence until the beginning of October, but glimpses of the ranges show that there has been a heavy fall of snow, and frosts may be expected. In some districts, again, farmers consider that the benefit to pasture growth .and cereal crops will outweigh the losses from the snow. District Reports Reports from various centres are as follows: ... Waiau.—The weather broke on Wednesday, and yesterday morning there was a fair fall of snow on the ground, but very cold rain showers during the day caused it to disappear quickly., lo 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon 65 points of rain had fallen, and showers were falling last night. The front hill lambing, which is now on the way, will result in losses. Culver den.—The weather has been extremely wintry, and snow fell on and on throughout yesterday. In late lambing 'flocks some losses have been recorded, and the south-wester and the sleet that fell intermittently have added to individual flockowners’ fears. Waikari.—Snow was on the ground yesterday morning, although it quickly melted, but the day was cold with sleet showers and rain. Lambing is well advanced and losses, except for overnight lambs, are not expected. Ram was falling last night. Oxford—About two inches of snow fell, accompanied by a cold southwester, and sleet showers. As lambing is now about at its. height, lamb losses are expected, and in a few cases these have already been reported Darfield.—There were about two Inches of snow yesterday morning, and it was bitterly cold during the day. The district, which is generally well provided with shelter belts, was unlikely to suffer much. There was no south-westerly, and generally the moisture would offset any losses. Doyleston—The lambing was about three parts through, and although Thursday night and yesterday were bitterly cold from the south-wester, hailstorms, and gusty winds and showers, individual flockowners’ losses were reported to be light. Hanmer Springs.—Two inches of snow covered the ground in the morning, and snow was still falling steadily at noon. Three inches of snow were reported on the Whalesback road from Waiau and Kaikoura. . ' The Bays—About five inches of snow fell on the higher levels, and up to eight inches on the tops. There was little on the low levels, and this quickly disappeared, showers falling during the day. The snow was of a powdery nature and as the ground was dry lamb losses reported were negligible. Methven.—Snow had been falling intermittently for two days, and two inches were now on the ground. The weather had been very cold, and as lambing was now in full swing some losses were expected. A south-wester was blowing and the snow, of a powdery nature, was banking up, The dry condition of the ground was a help* against losses, and there vas very little hail. Hororata.—Snow fell intermittently during yesterday, totalling up to one and a half inches. Waimate.—Accompanying the heaviest fall of rain experienced in Waimate for some time, a fall of snow coated the Hunters’ Hills. Up to 9 a.m. on Friday 20 points of rain were recorded. Timaru.—The town yesterday had its first fall of snow this year, the snow, driven before a bitter southerly wind falling thickly for a short period. The southerly squall which arose on Thursday evening continued yesterday, with showers of driving rain, and bitterly cold winds. Ashburton.—General falls of snow were experienced in all parts of the Ashburton County on Thursday evening and again yesterday. In Ashburton there was about an inch of snow by 7 o’clock yesterday morning, but this was followed by heavy rain and did not lie. Further snow, rain, and hail fell during the morning, although the snow did not gather. One main electric power line in the Mitcham district was brought down and the supply of current to consumers was interrupted for more than an hour. In the districts near the foothills, a few inches of snow had fallen early yesterday morning, and this became deeper later in the day, as the storm did not abate and thick snow fell in the morning. Most of the lambing is fairly well advanced and reports received yesterday indicate that losses will be very light. Some farmers have actually completed the lambing. All Roads Cleared The snowfall on the higher levels of the province was comparatively not heavy, and there was little difficulty in clearing highways for traffic. The Public Works Department reported yesterday that there was only a foot of snow ■pn Porter’s Pass and this section of the West Coast highway was soon reopened for traffic. The department’s gangs had much more difficulty on the section between Darfield and Springfield, which apparently was in the line of the worst part of the storm. Two graders were put to work on the Dyer’s Pass road, and traffic was soon able to use this route between Christchurch and Governor’s Bay. The Publie Works Department said there had been no reports of damage. The Automobile Association (Canterbury) advised last evening that all main roads were open for traffic. A grader had worked to the top of the Lewis Pass and a track for motor vehicles had been cleared on the West Coast side of the pass. A grader had also cleared the Hilltop road to Akaroa, and yesterday afternoon the road was usable by Motor vehicles without chains. LYTTELTON , Although the hijls about the harbour and the upper part of the town itself were covered with snow yesterday morning, the fall was not nearly as heavy as it was in Christchurch and suburbs. Light falls continued throughout the day and the weather was bitterly cold. WELLINGTON’S HILLS WHITENED (P.A.) WELLINGTON. Sept. 11. Wellington experienced the cold breath of winter to-day, just when the mild weather of the last few weeks had encouraged the feeling that spring was close at hand. The day dawned bril-

hantly fine, but soon after 0 o’clock clouds began to spread over the city from the south, and by 9.30 hail had begun to fall heavily. Hills round the city soon took on a mantle of white. About 10 30 a.m. the thermometer fell sharply to 33.8 degrees Fahrenheit, and the fall turned to snow. The faff was not of long duration, and the snow quickly melted on the ground. Temperatures fluctuated between 40 and 44 degrees all day except during the fall of snow.