HEAVY THUNDERSTORM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14133, 7 August 1909, Page 5

HEAVY THUNDERSTORM.

ISM -' '' . • ' ipTELEGRAPH. WIRES DOWN. l|i A POWERFUL • GALE.

HP* weather yesterday was again varigppf'Jfflfe weather yesterday was again varijfjfl ' 'able, but was on the whole more boisIK'ttrous than that of the previous day, and jp the evening a heavy thunderstorm broke over the city and district. IRain fell at intervals, sometimes f ■. :/ heavily, throua i ~nT the morning, and a strong westerly wind prevailed nearly all ijJyS" dsv. There was a rough sea in the harfJlpVour, and the weather outside was heavy. SgNflfTho climax was reached, however, in tlpitfijie evening, when one of the sharpest storms that has taken place for some time fe%£v»as experienced. The wind had been blowing more or ( less strongly all tho afternoon, but about 7.30 it increased to a gale, which howled and whistled, rattled doors and windows, and kept all but the most venturesome inside. The night was ';j dark and lowering, and to add to the un- [ pleasantness, the wind was accompanied ||H|;}qr a violent thunderstorm, tho thunder , * rolling in low and sudden peais, which , were preceded by vivid flashes of light- • ning. Following this, the rain came down in torrents, the streets being turned into miniature rivers in a very few minutes. During the early part of the ( downpour the rain was accompanied by . hail, to say nothing of the wind, thunder ' and lightning, and, altogether, it was one "" of the most severe storms Auckland has ; experienced sinec that at the beginning |pfljj;pf July. After the rain had ceased, the ■ i wind abated somewhat, though it • con- • ticuecf to , blow with considerable force *. until the early hours of the morning. The principal damage done, so far as could be ascertained, was to the telegraph lines south of Auckland, which were fill blown down, communication, therek ;, H lore, being for some hours completely stopped. Between Auckland and Hamilton some 16 or 17 wires were disconnected, and from about nine o'clock, the teleJt||jjtgraph office was unable to get communication ; with any of . the. Southern offices. Connection with some of the stations was , lost about eight o'clock, but the climax - , came later. A man was immediately sent §j out for the purpose of endeavouring to : get one or two wires up, which he ulCl;' timately succeeded in doing, and coinmunication was partially restored after '.v. .midnight. Owing to the telegraphic in- | 'i, terruption our cable and news services arc 'not so full as usual this morning. This morning a party of men will be sent out to repair the damage as far as possible. Comparatively little damage seems to , have been done in the city, though one of the ornamental trees in Princes-street was blown out by the roots, and fell across an adjacent fence. , An incident illustrating the severity of ;» , the. rainstorm occurred in Queen-street, |5t '.a little before eight. • A lady and gen- ' tleman, on their way to the theatre, sheltered under a verandah on the eastern side of Queen-street, immediately opposite I';:--His Majesty's Theatre. The hour for HHI the raising of the curtain had arrived, tf; and still the rain poured. A brilliant idea struck the male member of the party, ' and promptly acting upon it he astonish- - ed a cabman by offering him a fare to convey - them' across the street. The cabman jumped at the offer, and the fady s r and gentleman got to the theatre comparatively dry. Later on, the weather moderated considerably, and though the wind blew in-

Intermittently till after midnight, very ' little rain fell, the weather at the time of going to press this morning being fine, , though windy, and the sky clear except for a few passing clouds. Although the weather on the coast is were, shipping generally has not been interfered with. In one or two instances, however, several sailing vessels have found l it necessary to seek shelter along the coast. txHf; .

Sf;' WAIKATO RIVER FLOODED. i i-'i ' ■ ,vci [BY TELEGRAPH.OWN CORRESPONDENT.] ' Httntly, Friday. * . Owing to the excessive and continuously f ; heavy rainfall of this week the Waikato ■ River is in high flood. The punt landing t-. L on the western bank is submerged, and the . Waahi-Rangiriri West Road is under water for some considerable distance. SNOW AT WAIOURU. . [By TELEGRAPH OWN CORRESPONDENT.] "Waiotjrtx, Friday. ■ ; Snow fell here to-day, and . there are "■ about 12in on the road leading to Tokaanu.

Hlpr: MR. WRAGGE'S FORECAST. Mr. Clement Wragge supplies the follow- ' "ing forecast from Oamaru:The retreating < disturbance "Arnold" has become amalga;mated with the disturbance .named "Nemo." heavy ;W. S.W. to S. and S.S.E. gales may ha expected shortly, especially along the j west coast. An electric disturbance with v;''- rain, also snow, is probable in the South. .'// The weather will be very treacherous over J'/itha Tasman Sea. :

glgg ON THE WEST COAST. .. .The weather is also bad on the west coast, gales blowing and heavy seas running. On ■ /Thursday night a, heavy thunderstorm was f/iti experienced, and the same order prevailed | last evening. The Northern Company's steamer Claymore, which left Onehunga on .'Thursday afternoon for Hokianga, crossed the Manuka bar outwards at five o'clock, • but had not proceeded far on her journey •, 'before she encountered turbulent seas and ■ strong gales. As the sea was rapidly be-

, corning move furious, Captain Dorling put '?) his vessel about and making the Manukau returned to port, anchoring inside Puponga. ' "Yesterday morning the Claymore berthed at Onehunga, where she'will remain until 10 o clock this morning, at which hour she will »endeavour to make the passage to Hokianga. i The same company's steamer Rarawa, wmcb &ji>rrived at Onehunga from New Plymouth J'Bsterday, met with rough weather on the up the coast, and Captain Norbury |gjP§j«eß' that the thunderstorm and heavy rainfall which accompanied it were the most severe he had ever experienced. The auxili- , ary scow Albatross is in the Manukau waiting a favourable opportunity to cross outI j •/ Waids for Waitara. [Sill# . . • .