WORST FOR YEARS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 15, 18 July 1939, Page 10

WORST FOR YEARS

SNOW IN HAWKE'S BAY

MORTALITY AMONG LAMBS

(By Telegraph—Press Association.)

HASTINGS, July 17.

The whole of Hawke's Bay province today experienced a sharp drop in temperature with widespread snowfalls, the third in eight days. Conditions in central areas are particularly bad, where falls up to seven inches have been registered on the plains and more on the foothills and ranges. Severe snowstorms are still raging in the Ruahines and Kaiwakas, and it is possible that if there is a sudden thaw the rivers generally will rise, with possible flooding.

Light snow fell in Napier and Hastings during the day, but melted on reaching the ground. The hills nearby were covered with a white mantle. Old residents describe the conditions as the worst for 40 years, as such a general snowfall has not previously been experienced. Roads generally are passable, but care is necessary on the Napier-Taupo and Napier-Gisborne roads, and also on the Main South Road, which has a frozen, glassy surface. There is believed to have been a heavy mortality in early lambs. Conditions tonight were still wintry, but with prospects of an improvement.