THE CHRISTMAS STORM

Evening Star, Issue 14250, 27 December 1909, Page 4

THE CHRISTMAS STORM

GENERAL THROUGHOUT NEW

ZEALAND. " Saved it up and poured it all on 'em " was how a man in a crowded car summed up the downpour of rain on Christmas Eve. His remark explains everything, and it need not be amplified. The sunshine faded "in a moment almost, and the happiness of a nation was clouded and chilled. The storm was general throughout the Dominion. Locally, the onlv damage done was that to the fancy stuff worn by the ladies who were caught unprepared for tho downpour. A gleam of comfort was left to suburban folk whose water tanks were as drums. In sunny Auckland a ga-1© raged all Christmas Day, and trees and fences were blown down, and craft in' the harbor severely buffeted. In Wanganui Christmas Eve was beautiful till midnight, when tho storm began. Christmas Day was cold and wot. In the evening heavy rain set in, with a high wind, which increased to a gale. Havoc was wrought in the gardens. The prospects for to-day were good, the conditions changing for tho better about noon yesterday.

Wellington had the roughest Christmas Day known for years. A wild southerly 6tcrm burst over the capital on Saturday morning, and culminated at night in one of the severest storms experienced for many a day. A good deal of minor damage was done on shore. A washout on the'Tlutt railway necessitated a temporary deviation of traffic to the old line. Christmas Day in Christchurch was marked by a stiff south-westerly gale, which sprang up in tho morning, and driving rain. Many of the sidewalks were under water. Several trees lost, branches. Yesterday was bright and sunny, and dust blew about the place in the' afternoon. In North Canterbury the gale was felt severely, but no serious damage is reported. Our Invercargill correspondent wires: After the heat wave, extending over four days, during which the temperature in the shade Tanged between 77deg and 87deg, heavy rain commenced to fall late on Christmas Eve, and continued all night. The streets were thronged with people, nevertheless. Christmas Day broke bleak and wet, but large numbers of people went into the country. NAPIER, December 27. An exceptionally heavy gale burst over the district on Saturday"night, and raged all yesterday.- The fruit crops suffered, but not so severely as was feared. The weather to-day is 'beautifully fine. SHIPPING DELAYED. The Mararoa was unable to get away from Wellington for Lyttelton on Saturday night, owing to the rough weather, but she cleared the Heads at 12.30 p.m. yesterday. The Maori, which left Lvttelton at ten o'clock on Christinas night, had to make two attempts to enter Wellington, and succeeded the second time at 11 a.m., after oil bags had been brought into 'use. The ferry steamer Cobar was torn from her moorings at Day's Bay. Luckily she had steam up, and was thus able to make straight for Wellington. Many pleasure boats in the vicinity of Day's Bay met with minor mishaps. The Union Company's launch Karamea broke from her moorings, and was piled up at Kinii-.irr.-i. Xhe oil launch Meo, ivhich wa(s anchored at Rona Bay, broke away, and was thrown up on the rocks at Mahena Bav.

FOUR SEAMEN HURT. The steamer Rakanoa reached Wellington last night, after a tempestuous time in Cook Strait, while bound from Wesport. Sho met the hurricane off Terawhiti on Saturday night, and for some hours could only keep her head to the sea.. A great sea broke on deck over the quarter, smashing the skylights and fittings. The men had to go aft to straighten things up, and four were caught by "a succeeding sen. and badly injured, having to be reS!i t0 ,lllj lloSl ' ital on l ' lle steamers WELCOME RAIN. [SI'KCIAL TO THE Sl'Aß.] CHRISTCHURCH, December 27. The rain that fell throughout' the Ashburton district on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day meant salvation to the wheat and root crops, and will be worth many thousands of pounds to farmers. Large areas of grass pasture were scorched up and withered, rape and turnip crops were dying off for want of rain, and wheat was just in that stage that, with a few more days of such intense' heat as had been experienced, the heads would have prematurely ripened off, there would have been a large amount of shrivelled grain and the general average yield would have been seriously affected. The late sown out crops will also greatly benefit bv the rainfall. Still, the average yield of this cereal will be below the estimate given in the official returns recently published bv the Government, There is a large area already in stook, and many of the crops, particularly on light lands, are somewhat ot a disappointment, and are not up to what they promised to be in the earlier part of the season.