STORM IN THE SOUTH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18947, 19 February 1925, Page 6

STORM IN THE SOUTH.

HEAVY WIND AND RAIN. SOME DAMAGE REPORTED. ; TELEGRAPH LINES DOWN,. [BT TELEGRAPH.— OTO CORBJE&PQXIDENT. 3 WELLINGTON. Wednesday. The force of the -disturbing elements in Wellington during last night, and early this morning left no doubts as fa the intensity of the westerly storm •which had previously made its ance. The experience was a storm of the worst type. Not only Was there % proper gale, but also a * proper downpour of rain. The combination of both made conditions so severe as to cause a good deal of damage. At titties the wind was fierce. Numerous gusts of between 50 and 60 miles an hour were recorded, while for the period 10.30 p.m. to 1 a.m. the rain came down in torrents, the official record showing a fall of 108 point's for that stage of' the storm. The disturbance was by no mean* local. Reports which, have come to hand, this morning show that tho boisterous weather has been genera!, with rain in nearly every part of' the Dominion. In the Nelson and Wcsfc Coast districts conditions were exi tremely bad, and the heaviness of tha rain in those and other parts has accounted for flooded rivers, those on the West Coast making the bars in a dan* gerous state. Tho high wind caused some damagtf to telegraph and telephone -wires in the Wellington district, falling trees being the main Cause. Some lines were down at Siivcrstream, and damage is also reported from Carterton and -WoodviUe* In and around Wellington only minor damage was reported. Repair gangs were at once set t"> work, and it was expected that all lines would be clear this afternoon. The gale did considerable damage t4 orchards in the Hutt \ alley, in mc.sk cases stripping the trees of all the?r fruit, both ripe and unripe. The tomato crops' also suffered, to some extent. Considerable rain must have fallen m ths upper reaches of the valley, as the Hut River has risen several feet. WEATHER AT AUCKLAND* GOOD FALL OF RAIN« ' ROUGH SEAS ON WEST COAST, j Since the dry spell was broken on Sat-, urday night the weather at Auckland ha 3 been very changeable and more or left! wet. Over two and a-half inches of rata has fallen during the last four days, compared with only .18in during the first* half of the month. The rainfall to data for this month was 2.88b up to 9 a&U yesterday, and of that amount .95in fell during the previous 24 hours. The barometer was very low yesterday; at sis in the morning it bad fallen to 29.50 m. The glass rose slowly during the day and last night the reading was 29.65 in. The weather -was very stormy on iha West Coast on Tuesday night and yesterday morning, when a hard gale voa blowing from the west-north-west. D> o wind blew in fierce squalls, accompanied by heavy rain. The sea was very bfia\} on the coast, but the Manukan Bar was not affected. The small steamer Ohine* muri crossed the bar outward at S p.nu on Tuesday, en route from Onehunga to Whangape. Owing to tho tempestuous weather outside tho vessel returned sis hours later, and anchored inside the heads for shelter. The Rarawa s trip ixo® Now Plymouth to Onehunga was delayed for about five hours by the storra. Tho boisterous conditions were also fei* to the eastward of New Zealand. The Ulooloo from New York was due Auckland at 6 a.m. yesterday, but she was delayed by bad weather :ind triE arrive iffitil this mgaungi j|