Thunder Storm In Whangarei

Northern Advocate, 22 July 1948, Page 4

Thunder Storm In Whangarei

To the accompaniment of rolling thunder and vivid lightning, torrential rain fell in Whangarei last night. Within an /hour the greater part of lin. was recorded, but. it then eased and within two and a half hours the gauge showed a recording of .97in. This fall brought the total since the storm commenced on Sunday to sJin., the greater part being recorded in the last three days. Last night’s rain made the year’s total to date just exceed half the average annual rainfall. At Ruatangata the fall last night was lighter, .69in. being recorded for the 24 hours. This brought the total for the past three days to 4.49 in. SOME ROADS STILL BLOCKED For the third day through traffic to Kaitaia from the south is being diverted through Herekino or Kaeo as the Maungamuka Gorge is blocked by slips, which the PWD expect to have cleared by tonight. The road from Dargaville north through Waipoua to Rawene is blocked by water at Babylon, and the detour route through Waihue can be used by buses and heavy trucks only. Cars and lower-slung trucks cannot get through the flood water. The Dargaville - Whangarei main road is open, as the Wheki Valley did not flood as might have been expected after the downpour last night. AUCKLAND DOWNPOUR In Auckland IJin. of rain fell between 11 p.m. on Tuesday and 1 a.m. yesterday, making one of the wettest nights for a long time. The fall to 9 a.m. yesterday totalled 2.71 in. Hamilton missed the worst of the storm, although a few heavy showers fell on Tuesday night. Torrential rain fell in the Taupo district yesterday and 1.21 in. were recorded between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Roads were scoured, but there were no major washouts. SNOW IN S. ISLAND Rain fell in most parts of the South Island and there was about four inches of snow in the high country which did no damage. Christchurch had the coldest day for the year with a maximum temperature of 42.6 yesterday and the demand for electric power was the heaviest recorded this winter. Snow fell throughout Central Otago during the same storm.