THE WEATHER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2318, 4 August 1898, Page 30

THE WEATHER.

Dukedim, Monday

A ta°te of thoroughly wintry weather Ins been experienced for tiie pa-t two days. Tho fine mild weather of Friday led a good many people to ridicule Mr Paulin's forecast on that day of rain, hail, and snow showers, but events turned out almost exactly as tho local weather prophet foretold. Rain fell very heavily on (Saturday morning and forenoon, and, after a short In oak at midday, there- wero oilier h<\ivy showers in the altcrnoon. Towards nightlpU there •-eomi.d to be some promise of fair weather, but jarly in the evening there was a smart fall of unow, which lasted sufficiently long to co\cr flic streets. Many persons who went to places of amusement were greatly svrprLcd to fmd when they came outride that the ground wa? covered with snow to the depth of o\er two inches. There wore farther heavy fills during the night, so that when the population awoke on Sunday morning it was to find the tov.n completely enveloped as in a mantle. There was not much fall in the morning, but few people ventured out, and the bciuty of tho spectacle was not seriously m irred by traffic. In the afternoon the snow again fel) somewhat heavily, but during the night there was not so much of it. The snowballing nuibanca wa3 to some extent experienced during the evening, and it is probably due to the happy accident of yesterday boiii?; Sunday that there was not moro of it. The tramways stopped running during the afternoon, owing to Uio depth of the snow.

Rain fell very heavily at Hie Taicri all day on Saturday, and during the night there was a severe fall of snow. Yesterday the snowdrilts continued, and as the c*. ci'iag closed in a strong wind was blowing. At Port Chalmers the snow siorni was the heaviest experienced for many roars. It was accompanied by extreme cold, and many residents were deprived of water for some timo on Sunday morning owing to the water in the supply pipes being frozen. The police force, under (Sergeant Georin, were on the whole more successful in stopping rough snow-balling than were those of the city. A gentleman who came in from Whare Flat last evening informs \is that tho snowfall there was very heavy. There are some largo snowdrifts in various places on the road, and below Ashburn Hall thcie are some drifts from Bft to 10ft in depth.

(Fkom Our Own Coreesi-oxdentt.) Gore, August 1. The heavy fall of snow all over Southloml on Saturday night and Sunday periously interfered with the "raihray traflic 10-day. The early morning train from Clinton to * Inyeroargiil "was delayed, the snow in some of the cuttings being 3ft deep, and thi engine. Avhen it arrived in Gore, was decked up to the funnel with snow. The engine on the early train from Inveravrgill to Gore broke clown at Kamahi, and did not reach Gore until three hours after time-table time. The Kingston train to Gore had a very tryin o experience, and in several of the cuttings the snow had to be shovelled away before the engine could get through. At, Kingston the snow was o^er 2ft thick, and the train was nearly two hours late at Gore. The north express was an hour Jute leaving Gore, and would be likely to lose more time before reaching Balelutha. Along the coast-line the fall has not been heavy, and in many places has almo&t, clenrcd away, but inland tho fall was very heavy, and is likely to be 0-1 the ground for some time. The weather is .still unsettled and very cold.

WoonvuxE, Aii'.'iis-I. 1 A he.m fill of snow occurred here vo%teidav. and the frost laf-i night v.a^'the severest ever felt in this disliiol. W*i:lij:;i,tox. July 31. Since yesterday afternoon Wellington has been experiencing a cold snap of almost un■nrccedentprl &o\erity. I!c<i\y rain and slrr>r fell throughout the niprht, and this morning tho hills around the city had a thick roalirtr of snow. Tho fall appeared lo be very heavy on the hills at tho of her side of Iho harbour and in the Hutt Valley. The appearance of snow on the higher levels surrounding the city is a most unusual occurrence. ClllU'-TCTITJIICH, AugUSt 1. Since Saturday the weather hero lias been intensely cold, with a high S.W. wind. There w<is a heav^ fall of snow yesterday, and iho PorL Hills ueie covered. To-day a

■welcome cli.iii^e 'vis >et h>, and d'-tlioii^h it is still very wintry the sun is shining brightly, ;>nd the wind has dropped. In

the country districts the fall of snow was heavy. TjMAKTj, Au«U*i 1. The heaviest soa for years rolled into the bay to-day, its greatest strength being reached previous to noon. By the evening it had calmed down a good deal. It brought

I a lot of .shingle up lo the leant of the brcak1 water, and carried a great qiunlity over the mole into the harbour near the end of the main wharf, the bank at this point being visible at low tide. This will be easily reJ moved by the dredge. The sea banked up the waters of the Washdyke lagoon, and caused the new railway embankment lo subside, delaying the trains a little. The embankment was repaired, bub was in some danger again us the tide rose in the af tor-

IxvERCAnruLT,, Augu bt 2. Heavy snow has been falling oil day, ,md early this morning the tram service \x,\\ to

bo .susi/cnded. A jn'ivale telegram fiom Five Itivcrs states that the snow is ISm dcoji there. The trains all arrived nearly up to time table to-day. The weather is still (11 p.m.) very heavy, and il is thick overhead, and looks as if more snow is likely to I fall. All the rivers are in small flood, r-nd j should a thaw set in rmiekly biy floods will Ibe uportcl. So far Ihorj ai'i in lo^ovt 1 ; 1 as to the loss of stock in tho rvtk comiiry, j though tha fall must have been very heavy j there. Owing to tlio snow on the various footbyll grounds, all matches to be played to inunow have been postponed.

D,M.4«E AT ST. CLAIK.

(Monday's ID^ily Times.)

The damage done by the tremendous sea running at St. Clair during Sunday night is something appalling to view. Matters were bad enough on Sunday afternoon, but the heavy wind that prevailed dui'iiig the night evidently raised a sea that has pro.clieu.H3' taken the eeplanade away. Things were at their worst about midnight, or viortly after, when furious waves come rushing in with irresistible force, and brought the face of the c-plauade and the Sandhills, lying fucther along the Leach, down in great masses. The bo-i aho attacked the protections of Mr Mitchell's section, which appeared to melt away in the vatcr. It is evident that somoLhing liko 15ft at the end of the tramway road has gone, for the fence on the right-hand side, onre on terra firma, now projects about that distance over the waves, which boil bonenth it. Be.twcen this and tho houie occupied by Mrs James Wilson a grent piece has beon bittca cor..plotoly out, and aL this parlicilpr point the breach is probably greatest. 'the OL-cujjaiiLs ill I'ifl hoii,o3 on the esplanade must ])ave Lad a very up easy time of it on Sunday iiio',)t. Mra Wilson and her family v.'cro up nearly all night in a .state of preparedness to quit. Having received Avarning of tl-.e danger about midniglit, steps; were at onco taken to paok up. About 1.40 he gas went out, the main having been swept away by the sea, which encroached until it undormined a corner of the hou-e. There is a large chimney not far distant, and if tins i.s undermined by the ;,ca it is probable that in falling it will drag the house with it. Mr (Jliiaholm, tho bathkoeper, also had a mot vnouv'abli rhuo cf it, v'ic '.'pa at o;i^ a tj tearing away some of the weatherboards at tho bassinet of his house. Yesterday afternoon ihe .sea wa* sweeping over the .surface of the bat!;s in hn^o volumes, and dashing with tromond.nis force a«?ainsi tlte buttress at the back of Mr Clii-sLolm's place, the spray afc times mounting as hijr'i as t'lo t"p rf t'to building.

The only eye-v.it:ic,;.3 of the clo^a-lfclion cf Sunday niglit appear d to have been Mr J. IJ. ITaneoclc, who made it his business to turn out ond vi-it the beach. The soa, with it? persistent rushes, broke away the whole of tho road, invaded vacant sections, washed the long- .spar out of tho baths, and broke to pieces tho heavy wooden protective works erected on the seaward f-idc of Mr Mitchell's propertj— washing out the barricade to sea, where it was speedily knocked to fragmentsdemolished tho piece of stone walling which has stood for many years, and smashed the corner of tho bathkeeper's duelling. While Mr Hancock was standing on the edge of the ground a .sea broke against one of the houses and drenched him, and from this it may be gathered that the force of water was trenicrdous. A visit to St. Clair yesterday afternoon disclosed a perpendieulrr face along Hie beach as far as the highest of the sandhills emended, and at interval of about a couple of minutes heavy slips might be seen falling down. Standing on the edge of what little leraains of the esplanade, and looking downw:=uls, the whole face feomed to be lowly on the move. The lower part was sliding down, and wan taken away to poa, and then a fall from tho top followed. Thin was going on continuously while the tide wan in, ami fro:n this fact an idea may lie formed of what is likely to occur if there arc many i ©petitions of Sunday and Monday's work. The aspect of things has become so serious that Mrs Wilson and Mr J. A. X. Riedlo determined to leave their houses. At half-paft 1 o'clock tho water was breaking on the tram-line at one ejcl of the esplanade, and each roller was eating down tho end of Beach sticet by ths too. Several gentlemen s^tate that tho pen. wps so heavy yesterday morning that the wa\cs wore breaking right over White Island. The Sandhills have also suffered materially, but the St. J\ilda protective works undertaken by the Public Works department have so far stood vfry well. The water rushed up to and ran o\>ii- ths I'hsnking of the ue-.v ienco, but the inner defence of sandb.i-.n has sufficed io kee 1 ) the sea out from the Flat. The lonoo, as was stated yesterday, seems to be doing what was expected of it -it is forming the nucleus of a sandhill, and with the Vxfra plank put on and the btrenglheiimc? of Ihe Siuidbag barricade which the aitilleryi.irn wc;n enij)loyed in doing, St. Kilda appenio to be fail ly secure.

A word of caution to those vml urine; on the esplanade, may not be out of plaro, lor tho edge of the brinks a?e very tioachoious au>l nre continually crumbling away, and as there is some 10ft of water le.uing and boiling o\er the bpach just beneath, and whirling f.tf«ncs and debris, anyone going down ihc bank would stand a very good chanco of being drowned or having his life knocked tut by floi-ting material.

/w*

" Not long ago a farmer who lives throe miles from hero, came to my btorc before breakfast and bought a bottle of Chamberlain's Cough Remedy. He said their little boy had a bad cold, and as they had used whaJ. they had in tl'o home, l>is wife would not let him pro !o plow until he ramo and got another bottle. The little boy, who was with him, remarked: ' Now I will soon bo well, for Chamberlain's " toff " medicine always euros me.' — R. C M'Elkov, Black Hawk, Pa." In speaking of this remedy, Mr M'Elroy said people came from far and wide to his store to get it, and many of them would not know what to do without it. For sale by all leading Chemists.