TERRIFIC STORM OF HAIL

Taranaki Daily News, 12 December 1928, Page 11

TERRIFIC STORM OF HAIL

NAPIER DISTRICT SUFFERS HAVOC WROUGHT IN ORCHARDS. BLINDING DISPLAY OF LIGHTNING TWO HOURS' FURIOUS ONSLAUGHT. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Napier, Last Night. Heralded by deafening, booming thunder and vivid, almost blinding flashes of sheet lightning, the most severe hailstorm experienced for many years broke over Napier and surrounding districts this afternoon. After raging with unabated fury for about two hours, it left in its wake hundreds of pounds of damage in the form of stripped fruit trees, tomato plants and flower gardens, ruined crops and damaged glasshouses. Continuous thunder for three-quarters of an hour was followed by a tremendous downpour of bail the size of peas. As the fury of the storm increased the hail pellets became larger, till in some parts they were more than one and ahalf inches long and an inch thick. For half an hour the hail pelted down, wreaking havoc everywhere, and when it eventually eeased heavy rain set in for an hour and drenched the countryside. Extensive damage is reported from most districts, though the parts supporting orchards and tomato crops suffered most. Eskdale, the centre of a rich tomato-growing district north of Napier, was struck first. Here young and. hardy plants just reaching maturity were cut off near the ground, while valuable crops were completely ruined. It is estimated that sixty to seventy thousand plants were lost. From Eskdale the storm swept in a south-easterly direction in a broad belt embracing Greenmeadows, Park Island, Napier and Pakowhai, and then swept easterly to the sea, where it spent its force. The experiences at Park Island, where the~old people's home is situated, were terrifying. lee came down in large, jagged pieces and smashed through window panes and a glasshouse. AU the panes, in one side of a glasshouse, which is 120’ feet long, were smashed by the force of the hail, and most of the panes in the other side. Another house suffered to the extent of 60 panes. The ice cut through the windows of a private residence and piled up six inches deep against the walls. .

HIDES OF CATTLE PIERCED. At Greenmeadows the hail in places ! was seven to eight inches deep, while leaves from the stripped trees completely covered the road. Several motorears were held up near Pakowhai, south of Napier, being unable to proceed through the hail. Numerous cases are reported where ears’ engines were affected. Haymakers in the middle of their operations, had their work undone. In one instance a stack in the making, three feet high, was beaten down flat. The hides of some cattle were pierced by the sharp icy projectiles. It is reported from one place that seven hail pellets collected had weighed one pound. | Damage in the city is confined to flower gardens, where tremendous havoc ■ was wrought. The rain flooded the : streets but the water quickly drained away. In most parts in the low-lying districts, however, the water lay deep, and had the downpour- lasted much longer it would undoubtedly have entered houses and shops. Orehardists suffered most from the visitation, many rich crops in the Havelock, Mangatere and Pakowhai districts being very badly affected, though the true damage will not be known till an inspection is made to-morrow. Fruit being prepared for export was ruined, and it is expected this will affect the output for the season.

This is the third occasion in six years that fruit has been damaged, the" last time being in December, 192'2. Although the course taken by the storm was broad, curiously enough properties side by side were affected differently. In one case at Eskdale a tomato planter lost heavily, while his neighbour was comparatively unaffected. Moreover, the storm seems to have cut a clearly defined field. Napier and the districts mentioned felt the full force, while residents in Hastings knew nothing of the occurrence.

Very heavy rain fell in the Hastings district in the early hours of this morning, but Napier was untouched. Half an hour before the thunder commenced the district was bathed in sunshine and beyond a black cloud or two well down in the horizon there was nothing to indicate such a savage change in the conditions.