Little disruption from snow

Press, 14 June 1978, Page 6

Little disruption from snow

Snow showers yesterday closed only one road on Banks Peninsula: Dyers Pass Road from the Sign of the Takahe to Governor’s Bay was closed from about 11 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. The snow affected only Banks Peninsula and Christchurch, being the first fall in the area for two years. St John ambulancemen attended six injury accidents in Christchurch streets between 7.20 a.m. and 8.20 a.m.

Three motor-cyclists came to grief and three persons fell off bicycles in the icy conditions. None suffered serious injury. The Christchurch Weather Office forecast sleet and rain on the Canterbury coast in the next 24 hours, with conditions improving gradually. In Wellington, the Meteorological Service said that in

spite of the wintry’ conditions, temperatures had been above normal over most of New Zealand for five consecutive months.

In its report for May, it said that in some areas of Canterbury, Otago, and Southland temperatures had been above normal by more than I.sdeg. Only parts of the Bay of Plenty, Central Districts, and Hawke’s Bay had slightly lower temperatures than usual.

A warm spell in the middle of May, with maximum temperatures of more than sdeg. above normal, had ben followed by a long, cold spell from May 17 to 25. May had been drier than usual in most districts, the only regions with much above normal rainfall being Westland, Fiordland, and parts of Northland and Southland.