COLDEST DAY OF WINTER

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25553, 22 July 1948, Page 4

COLDEST DAY OF WINTER

Temperature Only 42.6 Degrees

FARMERS WELCOME RAIN With the maximum temperature only 42.6 degrees, yesterday was'the coldest day of the winter in Christchurch. At 9.30 a.m. the temperature was one degree above freezing point, and it moved up fewer than 10 degrees during the day. Though the rain which fell nearly all day was mpstly light and misty, a cold south-west wind made conditions outside very unpleasant. More than an inch of rain has fallen since the wet spell began; but it was not sufficient to cause any trouble. The River Avon was fairly full; but not up to flood level, the Christchurch Drainage Board reported. The Heathcote was in similar condition. This was the first steady' rain of the winter; but it was not of sufficient duration to cause concern. The North Canterbury Catchment Board had no reports of flooding. A fall of about an inch of rain appears to have been general throughout Canterbury.

There was snow in the high country on Tuesday night; but it did not fall heavily or in drifts and stock is not likely to be affected. General lambing has not begun and most farmers welcomed the rain. The abnormally dry winter had begun to cause concern; but autumn-sown crops should now come away well—if there are no set-backs. The rainfall in Christchurch to date is 11.63 in, compared with 14.28 in last year.

In North Canterbury, the rain was particularly welcome. An old resident of Culverden said heavy land there was drier than he had ever seen it and some wells in the district had gone dry. Stock and crops would benefit and cultivation would be easier. In Waiau the winter has been the mildest for 28 years. Hawarden also had intermittent light rain all day. New falls of snow on the hills could be seen from all these districts. At Loburn .74in had fallen since the rain began, and at Rangiora .48in up till 8 a.m.

There were seven to eight inches of snow at Arthur’s Pass last evening, and it was Iving as far down as Staircase.

Domestic Water Shortage The light rainfall during recent weeks had caused a shortage of water for domestic supply in some country districts in the Ashburton County. Par ticularly in the Rakaia district, some farmers who rely on the rainfall have been short in their domestic supply and they have had to cart water. Because of the low ground water level, some wells have been dry.

Up to 9 o’clock yesterday morning .37in of rain were recorded and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. yesterday there were ,26in. Generally the rain had not reached the sub-soil. The day yesterday at Ashburton was cold, the maximum temperature being 42.4 degrees. ' Methven had light snow early yesterday morning. It lay to a depth of about half an inoh; but soon disappeared. High up in the Ashburton Gorge, four inches of snow fell during the night; but-there up to one foot is expected in the main fall of the winter. The weather was clearing last night and the wind was beginning to blow from the north-west.

Light rain fell in most parts of South Canterbury yesterday, and snow fell in the high country regions. After weeks of unseasonably mild weather, with only passing showers, farmlands of the district are exceptionally dry. In some places people have been forced to cart water to meet their domestic requirements. In Timaru yesterday light rain fell all the morning and part of the afternoon. In the late afternoon the rain ceased; but the weather remained dull. Snow in South

At Fairlie thdre was a light skiff of snow on the grass early in the niorning, but this was later dissolved by rain. The surrounding hills were well coated with snow from Kimbeli (about six miles above Fairlie) westwards. At midday there were two inches at Burke’s Pass, and it was still snowing. It also snowed at Tekapo. From Bluecliffs Station to the south of Timaru, snow was reported to be down to the 3000 feet line, and in the Geraldine district to be down as far as Gapes Valley. At the 900 ft level in the Fairlie district, 32 points of rain had been recorded up to 6 p.m. yesterday. A quarter to half an inch of snow was on the ground, but it was washed away by later rain.

NIGHT LANDING AT HAREWOOD 11 PASSENGERS ON BOARD AIRCRAFT RETURNS FROM OAMARU A Lodestar aircraft of the National Airways Corporation, carrying 11 passengers, landed beside a flare path at Harewood airport after dark last evening. It is believed to be the first time a civilian aircraft on a regular trip has had to land there with passengers after dark. The trip south was begun on schedule at 2.20 p.m., but, when the aircraft was beyond Oamaru, the weather deteriorated and the commander decided to turn back. As soon as this advice was received by radio at Harewood, arrangements for an emergency landing were put in hand. A flare path of 800 yards was laid out, with about 50 yards between each flare, which burn paraffin. The flames emerge at the top of a curved funnel, from which the name “goose-neck” flares is derived. * It was practically dark when the Lodestar came over Harewood; but its landing path was marked clearly. The commander landed down the single line of flares toward a cross-bar of flares which formed a T. This indicated the quarter from which the wind was blowing. The aircraft touched down at 5.35 p.m., and after that there was little difference from the arrival of a regular daytime flight. The passengers showed little concern, beyond disappointment that their trip to Dunedin had been delayed. Two earlier flights to Taieri had been cancelled because that airport was closed by bad weather. The National Airways Corporation at Harewood dispatched 30 passengers south by Christchurch taxis. They were met at St. Andrews (South Canterbury) by Dunedin taxis and the passengers were transferred, persons bound for Harewood from Taieri also making their journey by road. No northern flights to or from Harewood were affected, the Christchurch airport remaining workable in spite of misty rain most of the day. SNOW IN CENTRAL OTAGO (P.A.) INVERCARGILL, July 21. > Snow to a depth of four inches fell at Alexandra early thjs morning. Lighter falls are reported from Cromwell,. Queenstown, and Lumsden. Rain fell later in the day, but there is a prospect of more snow.