Five-Degree Frost In Christchurch

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30945, 29 December 1965, Page 3

Five-Degree Frost In Christchurch

An unseasonable change in the Christmas weather was followed yesterday morning by the heaviest December frost since 1948. Five degrees was recorded at the weather office at Harewood, and two degrees in the city.

The frost was short and sharp—by 5 a.m. the temperature at Harewood had risen to 35 degrees.

Six degrees of frost was recorded on December 16, 1948. There was a light hail shower about 12.20 p.m. yesterday, and further brief showers between 2.30 p.m. and 4.30 p.m. The temperature at Harewood dropped from the maximum of 62 degrees at mid-day to .59 degrees at 1.30 p.m., and at 8.30 p.m. was 55 degrees. With the present west-south-west airflow, further showers were expected today, a weather office spokesman said last evening.

Potato growers in the Marshland area reported some damage to crops, from yesterday morning’s frost. “It singed them, but I don’t think it was heavy enough to knock them back much,” one grower said. “It might knock them back about a week or so, but I don't think the quality will be affected.”

Another grower said brownish strips could be seen across paddocks in the area, and he predicted lighter crops as a result. “It missed me—l’m one of the lucky ones.” Pumpkins were also reported to have been singed. Growers in Harewood and Belfast areas said their potatoes had not been touched, and in Belfast a major grower of tomatoes, sweet corn and cucumbers also found no damage.

A stone fruit orchardist in Heathcote said there appeared to have been no frost there.

Though snow has fallen recently in some parts of the country, there has been none at Springfield or Oxford. Snow was falling on Arthur’s Pass yesterday, but traffic was not affected.

Seven Degree Frost

A frost of 7.8 degrees, the severest for the time of the year for many years, was recorded at Temuka yesterday. The Domain curator (Mr W. B. B. Crichton) said it was “exceptional” to get a frost harder than the average of one degree to two degrees usually recorded at this time. The reading was taken in the open, on the golf course.

Half a degree of frost was measured at Fairlie by Mr J. A. Gilchrist. The farm advisory officer, Department of Agriculture, Fairlie (Mr D. G. Reynolds) said frost was experienced at Middle Valley, which was most unusual.

but he attributed this to the fresh snow on the Two Thumb range on the Sunday night. “The season has been from two degrees to four degrees colder than the average,” he added.

Strong winds, up to 45 m.p.h., had been maintained for approximately 40 hours, it was reported from the Mount John University Observatory, Lake Tekapo, at 2.30 p-.m. yesterday. Light snow was still falling at The Hermitage yesterday, and there was little sign of the weather clearing to permit climbing in the Mount Cook region for at least a day or so.