THE WEATHER.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17665, 18 December 1917, Page 6

THE WEATHER.

SEVERE HAILSTORMS.

CROPS AND STOCK SUFFER.

Most unseasonable weather was again experienced in Christehurch and North Canterbury generally yesterday, heavy squalls of rain and hail in the earlier part of the day making the conditions most unpleasant for Anniversary i>ay holiday-makers, and causing damage to the crops in many places. The afternoon was sunny in town, but the evening teoiperature was very low, and there were prospects of a frost. The Akaroa correspondent of the " Lytteiton 'limes'' teitpnoned yesterday afternoon that heavy weather had been experienced since Saturday. Ham Jell persistently on Sunday, and hail squalls cccurred in the evtuing. There was snow on the hilltops yesterday morning. At tnree ociock yesterday aiternoon the weather was clearing

Cold rain fell at iianmer Springs on Sunday night, and yesterday morning snow was iymg on the hills ro'und Leslie Hills and Lyndon, all being white , from the Hanruer side. Yesterday afternoon, the weather was breaking. An exceptionally cold snap was experienced at Cuiverden on Sunday, when tho wind changed to the southwest and heavy showers of hail and rain fell. Yesterday morning the hills were heavily coated with snow, which came remarkably low down for this time of the year. The cold weather following on tho recent heavy rain will et-use a good deal of mortality amongst the newly shorn sheep. One farmer on the lianmer road lost about thirty ewes during that rain alone. Weather "conditions at Oxford are far from favourable for farming operations. Heavy rain fell on Sunday with a very tow temperature, the hills baying a fair coating of snow. There is every probability of a heavy mortality among newly shorn sheep, the losses of s.omo individual farmers being serious. During the week 3.07 inches of rain have fallen, namely, 2.2 G inches last Monday, .90 inches on Friday and .81 inches on Sunday. The heavy rain has beaten down the heavier crops of corn and of hay, which will scarcely recover. The torrential rain »f Friday morning washed off much of the rust, and the nor'-wester on Saturday did much good. There are, however, crops so badly rusted as to be unfit for harvesting. Heavy and cold southerly showers of rain fell in the Ashburton district during Sunday and Sunday night, tho total registered at 9 a.m. yesterday being 0.58 inches. The rain will cause considerable damage to tho standing grain crops, as it was accompanied by a strong wind. The previous heavy rains had thoroughly saturated and loosened the soil at the roots and the alternate heavy nor'-west and southerly winds had badly laid and tangled u 4 a lot of the heavily headed wheat crops. It will als.o have the effect of damaging grass and clover hay crops which were ready for leading in and stacking up. There had already been considerable mortality amongst ncwJy shorn sheep, and it is feared that tho cold rains during Sunday night will add to tho number of deaths which have already been reported. The weather, which has been very broken of late at Geraldine, turned quite wintry .on Sunday night?, and yesterday snow was right down Mount Peel and was even reported from the flat beyond "Woodbury.