VICIOUS GALE IN WELLINGTON

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 116, 11 February 1944, Page 3

VICIOUS GALE IN WELLINGTON

Minor Property Damage A gust of, wind with the abnormally high velocity of SO miles an hour was worded at the Kelburn Meteorological Office in the vicious north-westerly gale that swept Wellington during yesterday morning. This occurred at. 2.20 a.m., but within an hour of that time gusts with velocities considerably greater than 70’ miles an hour were recorded. The wind moderated considerably later in the morning, but continued to blow fairly,strongly throughout the day. The rainfall during Wednesday night amounted to 22 points. It is some time einec Wellington experienced such a strong wind. In May, 19-12, a gust with a velocity of 81 miles an hour was recorded at Kelburn. but the record, made some years ago, still stands at 87 miles au hour. Some parts of tlie city and suburbs are more exposed to the north-west than Is the Meteorological Office at Kelburn, and in those areas it was inevitable that such a strong and gusty wind should do a considerable amount of minor damage in the way of levelling of fences and breaking branches off trees. Ripening fruit in orchards suffered badly and so did some gardens, but structural damage beyond the lifting of tin roofs off sheds and outhouses seems to have been very ■ little. At Oriental Bay, near the Te Aro Baths, the wind lashed up the sea to such an extent that the waves deposited quantities of mussel shells in big bunches right across the roadway. A resident said yesterday that, he had never before seen this happen to such a marked extent.