SOUTHERLY GALE

Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 42, 18 August 1941, Page 9

SOUTHERLY GALE

MUCH RAIN AMD SNOW

NUMBER OF SLIPS

Wellington did not escape the wintry weather which during the last few days has been sweeping over the South Island, and which caused the cancellation on Saturday of the races in Christchurch. A fierce southerly was very much in evidence most of yesterday, and, indeed, the whole weekend was a pretty miserable one. It was, in fact, worse than most of the bad weekends which have been all too common, this winter.

Although the wind was strong and the rain persistent, especially along the eastern hills, it was not as cold as it sometimes is with a winter southerly, in spite of the fact that a liberal coating of snow fell on the surrounding high country. The rain on Saturday: and that which fell yesterday extended Wellington's "rain spell" to one of eighteen days and brought up the month's total rainfall to a little over five and a half inches, pr nearly one and a half inches more than the average. If there is further rain before 9.30 a.m. tomorrow the present "rain spell" will be one of nineteen days, which would equal the record established in June, 1887;

The wild weather of yesterday, however* appeared to have exhausted itself by the evening and the night was comparatively fine. Welcome sunshine this morning indicated that this latest winter storm was over.

The heavy rain which fell on Friday night caused the abandonment of most outdoor fixtures on Saturday,, and the continuation of the bad weather made it necessary to cancel some Home Guard parades which had been arranged for yesterday. MANY SLIPS COME DOWN. Quite a number of slips, mostly of a minor nature, occurred during the weekend in and around Wellington. There was one in the Ngahauranga Gorge, which, however, was not extensive enough to block traffic. At Eastbourne and at Day's Bay rock and spoil have come down on the road, and between Porirua and Pukerua Bay there have also been a number of minor slips. There has been a further slip in the Taita Gorge, where work on the previous big slip has been in progress for some time, with the result that the road is temporarily blocked again. , I Further afield, a fairly extensive slip In the Mariawatu Gorge road occurred yesterday morning, but the Automobile Association reports iat it can now be negotiated, although extreme, caution is necessary. The Hutt River, swollen with the weekend rain, rose between three and four feet only, and at no time was there any danger of flooding. Much surface water, however, is lying about irr the Hutt Valley, although yesterday's strong wind materially assisted in drying it up. The recent rains have caused a rapid deterioration in the surface of the Hutt Road, and in numerous places now there are potholes of sufficient depth and diameter to give unwary cars a nasty jolt. Some have been filled in, only to have the filling rapidly scoured out again.