WEATHER^ IMPROVES

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 69, 19 September 1938, Page 11

WEATHER^ IMPROVES

AFTER SEVERE STORM

Special forecast for Wellington:— Light to moderate but freshening north-westerly winds. Weather fair to fine, with rising temperatures. The general forecast for the Dominion as a whole, issued at noon today for the ensuing twenty-four hours, is for south-westerly to westerly winds over the North Island and for westerly to north-westerly winds over the South Island. East of the ranges the winds will be mainly light to moderate, but elsewhere, they will .be moderate to strong. In many places with a westerly aspect the weather will be rather changeable with occasional showers, but otherwise it will be fair to fine. Temperatures in the daytime will be milder, but'the night will be cold with many frosts. Moderate to strong north-westerly winds and mainly fair weather prevailed on Saturday, but later in the afternoon a southerly change set in in the far southland on Sunday almost the entire Dominion experienced an exceptionally severe south-westerly storm. Gales were general, and full gales have been reported from parts of Westland and from much of the North •Island. -Hokitika had a wind which reached a velocity of 75 miles an hour at times, while in several places in the Waikato the wind velocity reached over.6o miles an hour-r It is very unusual for ,a' south-westerly .to blow withsuch force or'to be so general. The storm was fortunately of relatively brief duration, the worst.being over by the late afternoon, and today winds are mainly light to moderate. Heavy rain which lasted some hours in several places accompanied the southerly change, and there were also thunderstorms and hail showers. The weather, however, improved rather rapidly after the storm was over, and today it is fine except for a few showers in western districts. Snow has fallen on high levels, and there were sharp frosts last night in the South Island. Temperatures, however, have not been very severe. The cause of the storm was a very deep cyclone which crossed the centre of the country during Saturday night, the barometer at Wellington falling to as low as 29.08 inches in the early hours of Sunday morning. This cyclone has moved away to the east of f the Chatham. Islands, and an anticyclone now covers the northern Tasman Sea and the north of the Dominion. '-.... Auckland's weather on Saturday was cloudy and mild, with a squally northwesterly wind. At about 8.30 p.m., by which time the wind had gone round to the south-west, there was a moderate thunderstorm, and frequent heavy showers fell during the night, the rainfall totalling 55 points. On Sunday there was a strong wind from the west-south-west, gale force being reached at times. The weather was changeable, with showers and sunshine alternating, a further 14 points of rain being recorded. The maximum and minimum temperatures on Saturday were 66.2 and 47.1 degrees respectively, and on Sunday 57.6 and 46.9 degrees. Wellington's weather on Saturday was cloudy, but on the whole fine and mild, 3.2 hours of bright sunshine being recorded. There was a strong northwesterly wind. Rain set in within an hour or so of midnight and became heavy at 5 a.m., when the wind changed to a southerly gale. Up to 9 a.m. on Sunday the rainfall totalled 111 points, and a further 11 points fell during Sunday morning. The afternoon, however, was fine and sunny, with a decreasing southerly wind, 3.5 hours of bright sunshine being recorded. The weather this morning was calm and clear after a frost of two degrees. The maximum and minimum temperatures on Saturday were, 58.4 and 41.6 degrees respectively, and on Sunday 51 and 37.5 degrees. In Christchurch on Saturday it was warm and sunny, with a fresh northwesterly wind. At ' 10.30 p.m., however, there was a sharp south-wester-ly change with cool temperatures and continuous rain. The weather cleared on Sunday morning, however, and has been partly cloudy since. Although it rained for only a few hours during Saturday night, as much as 86 points was recorded, which is a heavy fall for Christchurch. A light south-south-westerly wind kept temperatures cool yesterday and a frost of 16 degrees was recorded last night. The weather this morning was sunny and calm. Saturday's maximum and minimum temperatures were 69.1 and 41.8 degrees respectively, and Sunday's 50.4 and 32.6 degrees. Dunedin had a moderate north-easter-ly wind on Saturday, the morning being sunny and the afternoon cloudy. Some showers fell during the night. A strong south-westerly wind blew all day on Sunday, but it was fairly sunny although cold. During the afternoon there was a hard shower. A light north-westerly wind was blowing this morning and the sun was shining. For using obscene language in a public place, Robert Walter Muir, an able seaman, aged 26, was fined £2 by Mr! J. H. Luxford, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court today.