City And Hills Covered By Thick White Mantl

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19133, 28 July 1930, Page 9

City And Hills Covered By Thick White Mantl

EARLY TRAMS HAD DIFFICULT TASK, AND

WERE UNABLE TO MAINTAIN TIMETABLE.

THE heaviest snowfall experienced here since 1919 covered Christchurch and a large part of Canterbury with a white mantle this morning. The reading taken at the Christchurch Observatory at 9 a.m. showed that two inches of snow lay on the ground. In-September of 1919 three and a half inches was recorded, while, in 1918, there was a fall of seven inches. The snow brought a reminder that the present is the coldest winter that has been experienced in Christchurch for many years. So far this winter there have been 89 frosts, while the present is the second snowstorm. The bad weather is general to a large part of the country, and snow has been reported from places in the North Island. Most of Canterbury has experienced snow. Districts free from snow report hail, and very cold weather. There were power failures of a minor nature early in the morning, but the city largely escaped. Lyttelton, however, was without power throughout the morning owing to the failure of the power supply lines over the hills. Fendalton and Spreydon suffered brief interruptions of power, while in other suburbs the flickering of the lights made the residents apprehensive. Telegraph and telephone lines were not greatly effected. The wires to the West Coast came down, but communication was maintained via Blenheim. Telephone communication from Lyttelton to the bays was interrupted for some time.

Early Scenes. The scene in Christchurch this morning recalled the big snowstorm of 1918. People who were early astir found the roads almost unmarked sheets of white. Between the gusty storms that accompanied the successive snow showers the air was very still and sounds of all descriptions seemed to be blanketed by the white covering that lay over everything. Early daylight, filtering grudgingly through heavy cloud banks, revealed a ghostly scene. Silent .houses thac looked like great snow mounds flanked streets of unbroken white. Telegraph and power poles and lines were all coated on the weather side to a uniform whiteness. Here and there trees relieved the scene with a patch of darker colour, but even the trees had their quota of snow. Through the slush. The city appeared to wake to activity slowly. Early motor-cars ploughed through almost virgin carpets, throwing the snow as far as the pavements on either side as they went. They were the first destructive agents of the pure whiteness. It was not long before the main roads had lanes of snow and mud —dirty yellowish avenues in which the motors slithered and skidded, and from which they hurled the filth over the white borders at either side.

vealed the snowstorm in its artistic moods. On The Hills. On the hills the fail was not as heavy as might have been expected. This morning there was only about two inches of snow at the Sign of the Takahe. In the big snow storm of 1918 the fences were covered and the drifts in places were six or seven feet deep. All the tussocks on the hilis were still visible through the snow this morning. Mr H. G. Ell stated that it was snowing very hard on the hill tops, and a hard, cold wind was blowing. Young men with skis were early on the scene, anxious to take advantage of the favourable conditions. At 10 a.m. there was a heavy hail storm at the Sign of the Takahe, and later further snow fell. Snowstorms continued in the city throughout the forenoon, some of the showers being particularly heavy. The traffic kept the streets fairly clear, but there was a good deal of slush lying about and walking was unpleasant.