Coldest May for 20 years

Press, 25 May 1988, Page 3

Coldest May for 20 years

May has taken an unenviable grip on Canterbury’s weather records during the cold snap. A southerly front swept over Christchurch late on Monday, dropping the temperature to 1 deg. and bringing snow. By 9 a.m yesterday 2cm of snow lay throughout much of Christchurch while further north Rangiora had a fall of 3cm to 4cm and Woodend about 10cm.

Mount Hutt ski-field had 14cm of snow, Lake Coleridge 2cm, and Lake Rotoiti Icm. Ashburton and Invercargill each had scm.

The last time snow lay in Christchurch was on June 28 and 29, 1978. About 7cm lay in the city on June 29 after overnight falls and 3cm still remained the next morning. The last time snow lay in Christchurch in May was in 1967. Between scm and 7.5 cm was lying in Woolston and St Albans after snow fell on the night of May 15. Snowfalls aside, May has also brought notable chills although it has been unable to top the coldest May frost in Christchurch of B.Bdeg., in 1963. An 8.1 deg. frost was recorded at Christchurch Airport on Sunday morning, the third-hardest May frost on record. The frost yesterday morning was Bdeg.

An air temperature of —4.7 deg. was recorded on Sunday morning, the lowest May reading at Christchurch Airport since records were begun there in 1953. The second-lowest was recorded yesterday morning when the minimum air temperature at the airport was —4.6 deg. Last Friday also entered the record book when the maximum temperature at the airport reached only 6.2 deg., the lowest May minimum on record. The Ashburton' Domain had a frost of 11.4 deg. on Monday morning and the Winchmore Research Station recorded one of lOdeg. While about scm of snow fell at Ashburton, falls inland were heavier, with up to 17cm in the foothills. Meth ven had 12cm of snow lying yesterday morning.