THUNDERSTORM IN CITY

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28169, 7 January 1957, Page 6

THUNDERSTORM IN CITY

Christchurch weather continued yesterday to provide the extremes that it has throughout this holiday period. A fine, warm morning changed quickly to a period of thunderstorms, and a later pleasant period of sunshine in the afternoon developed into a wet, bleak evening. The city had its second thunderstorm within a week, but it was by no means as severe as that of last Wednesday. The thunder and lightning were not as sustained or intense and the rain was not as heavy. However, they were enough to drive away the crowds who were enjoying the day on the beaches.

Towns north and south of Christchurch heard the thunder and saw the lightning and darkened skies, but they had very little rain as the storm passed up the island. Their steady rain came later in the day. Christchurch might have expected the bad weather to arrive at some part of yesterday for Southland and Otago had been having steady rain. Up to 9 a.m. 90 points had been recorded at Invercargill and 39 points at Dunedin for the previous 24 hours. Ohakea had had 174 points for the same period. Small Depression Explaining the thunderstorm the Weather Office said that a small depression blew north-east along the east coast of the South Island and the cold front associated moved north rapidly. Small thunderstorms preceded the front. The storm hit Christchurch in

two distinct phases—the first, about 11 a.m. bringing rain and sometimes hail to the southern part of the city, Sumner, Lyttelton and Banks Peninsula but leaving the northern parts mostly untouched. But the second storm, which was about midday, appeared to cover the districts which had been missed at first. Many swimmers at North Beach and Waimairi, for instance, looked apprehensive about 11 a.m. when the clouds banked up behind them to the south and the thunder became nearer. Those who did not leave the beaches were rewarded, for bright sunshine prevailed when parts of Linwood and even South Brighton were having rain and hail. That storm seemed to pass mainly over the peninsula and out to sea. Sudden Wind Change By midday the more northern part of the storm was over the city, putting an end to holiday activities for the time at least. The Weather Office reported that a north-west wind of 15 knots rechanged to a 15-knot southerly before the storm, which brought squally gusts of up to 32 knots. It was also associated with a sharp drop in temperature for 72 degrees at 11 a.m. had dropped to 60 degrees by mid-day and later was as low as 52 degrees. However, the temperature returned to 60 degrees in the middle of the afternoon. Of the 28 points of rain that fell in the main period of the storm most of it was in the 15 minutes from 11.55 a.m. and there was also some hail at Harewood.