CANTERBURY STORM

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20637, 18 August 1941, Page 7

CANTERBURY STORM

REAL WINTER WEATHER HEAVY FALLS OF SNOW • (Per Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, this day. Snow, rain, hail and sleet gave Canterbury its first taste of real winter weather to-day. After two days’ rain and snow the south-west storm developed to its fiercest degree throughout last night and showed no sign of abating at midday. Very rough weather was experienced by the inter-island express steamer Maori at Cape Campbell, but she made a smart passage across Cook Strait, arriving at Lyttelton at 8.25 a.m. to-day, although she was half an hour late leaving Wellington. Although Christchurch experienced only slight falls of snow, the temperatures yesterday and to-day were much colder than the preceding days. Heavy falls of snow in the hilly parts of the province, particularly at Cass and Bealey, are making the Arthur’s Pass route to the West Coast almost impassable. Banks Peninsula also was swept by a snowstorm and 12in. of snow was lying on the hilltop on the road to Akaroa to-day. Snow also is reported to be lying at many places in midCanterbury and north Canterbury. It fell steadily from the early hours of the morning to about 10.30 o’clock at Burnham military camp, where there was a coating of about 2in. deep.