THE BREATH OF WINTER

Taranaki Daily News, 22 June 1928, Page 11

THE BREATH OF WINTER

COLD WEATHER IN TARANAKI RAPID CHANGE YESTERDAY. INCHES OF HAIL AT WESTOWN. . Winter, with its rain, its sleet, its icy, glistening bail and snow, descended in formidable array upon Taranaki coast, Mt. Egmont and inland areas—yesterday, painting the uplands with a cold white coat and washing the lower districts with a flood of rain. The past few weeks have seen some very cold days, but yesterday was exceptional. It ushered in the period of warmer, thicker clothes and large open fires in the homes. A hailstorm of unusual severity visited New Plymouth in the afternoon. Heralded for thirty minutes by threatening clouds hanging low on every side, it broke suddenly about 3.45 o’clock and for a lengthy period the rooftops echoed with the rattle of the large stones. The streets were transformed into carpets of whiteness, soon, however, to change to a dirty grey, and, as the storm abated, to melt into muddy slush that flooded down the gutters in torrents.

Actually, however, the centre of the storm seems to have passed over Westown, about the vicinity of Messrs. Duncan and Davies’ nursery. There the fall was phenomenal and is thought to be the heaviest ever experienced. At 10 o’clock last night the erust was still inches thick, while, in sheltered places, it was from six to eight inches through. Curiously enough at Dartmoor, only a short distance away, the fall was practically nil. Snow is reported to have fallen in light showers at Inglewood. Patea was also visited. At Stratford and Hawera the weather, though for the greater part dry, was clear and cold.

Mt. Egmont, right down to the lower ranges, received a thick coat of snow as the result of falls on Wednesday night and yesterday afternoon. At the north hostel there was a large crowd of visitors, including Government Publicity Office officials, who were “shooting’’ both mountain and bush scenes for sending abroad. The latter climbed about 1000 feet and report the snow to be about 18 inches thick. The visitors had some exhilarating snowballing and other recreations.