THE WEATHER.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13806, 18 January 1909, Page 6

THE WEATHER.

RAIN AJWD SNOW. Saturday was a boisterous , squally ;i h. i ajiu»i.iy ana a uVtij otu ldiseU oy we-guic, tuougu uuc so ii'uuia. iiiii tr tK-dl. xuiu witf ina Deeu less on uieiaxiu. xue nui'^ourstall to ok sptciai lo ■■ ■■•"' lue veaoeis 111 pori. m leauiutsb lor Heavier weatucr, "i.x. there «as a lively ouu-xae it was not very heavy,. ami me v taoeis lay comiurtaDiy'in tueir Dertui.. itsieruay tne Sea Was somewhat lieuvlei, roilLiS coming- trom suliie Uistance.

"j.nc wt-atuerwas agaui snowery ana muiideratorms traversed tn<i country luiaiia. 'J.lie" temperature 011 .Saturday .11 lo»v and showers on the plains v ere by snow on the tops jf the r.mgcs. 1 estetuay morning taiere v. as lioai-irost on the grass a few miles inland" irom Timaru. The Post Office notiees record ail rivers in flood. ■ Jlr R- f'ergusson's records for the inonm show mat up to 9 a.m. on Saturday, 16th, 2.17 inches of rain fcad talXen, on nine days, and there was some dampness on several other clays. Tiie thermometer records were aiso unusually law, for both maxima and minima. On Friday night the minimum, 44 deg., was recorded, and the maximum recorded was 82 deg. on the 3rd. January last year was a hot month, the record ranging up to 104 on the 23rd.

FLOODS AT NELSON. i Per Press Association. NELSON, Jan. 16. After heavy rain over night, causing a fresh in the rivers, a coid snap set in just evening, the glass falling to 41. To-day the weather is mure like ?ariy winter than summer. The glaii •:-> a little over sUdeg. in the shade. ( wing to the uncertain weather, harvest is being interfered with. Hop puking will be three weeks late, and the c-aily crops are not abundant. DAMAGE TO ROADS --ND BRIDGES. REEFTGN, Jan. ",7. The damage done by the Hood v. as irostly in the valley of the from "Reeften to 12 miles up Maruia road. The damage to county works alone is estimated at £2OOO. At one \ place on the right hand branch of the river the bridge is tilted up and left high and dry. the river running in a mv channel. Ocher bridges have been washed away, leaving no trace of piers or approaches. It is estimated that it will cost £SOO to repair the damage at Rosstown alone. SHIPPING DELAYED. LYTTELTON, Jan. K;. The heavy southerly gale on the coast caused considerable delay among coastal steamers. The ferry steamer M-mri t' >r 'k fourteen hours" to come from Wellington to Lyttleton, conse'he missed the first express The Wimmern. from Wellington, has Hot yet put in an appearance, and as

I she passed Kaikoura'at 9.15 she is not Lexpected till late this afternoon. Tlie Cygnet broke iier record from Kaikoura to .Liyttelton, taking twenty-one hours, eleven of which she consumed in the last thirty miles. The. Talune, from -Dunedin, arrived safely, coming along well tnrough the heavy following sea.' CHANGE FOR THE BETTER. . CHRISTCHIJRCH, Jan. jr.. This weather has moderated and itliere appears to be some hope that it will settle fine. Reports from North Canterbury state that the harvest has been put on at least a fortnight so that instead of being at the usual appointed time'it will be well on to February before the main wheat liarvest gets into swing. In 48 hours the country settlers have experienced, a rainfall of 1.42 inches on the plains-and a snowfall on the back hills. The ' crops (flattened down by former rains) under the influence (|f the heavy gusts last "night have the 1 appearance to-day of having had a roller over tlieni, the potato fields lying between the moulded rows. Stock of all kinds felt the storm of last night keenly and farmers who have suffered the depredations of caterpillars devoutly hope that it is an ill wind that would not do some .good. Tliey hope the chilling blasts will exterminate the pests wliich the small birds have found a task unequal to them. The rivers today were all reported to be very high, the TVaiuiakariri was bank to bank.

CARTERTON, Jan. 16

The weather is very wet and the temperature has fallen very low. There is snow on the mountains.

At Peel Forest on Thursday very heavy rain fell at night and up to 9 o'clock on Friday morning. In the twelve hours 167 points fell. The rainfall for 1908 was 3G61 points.