THE WEATHER.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1053, 18 January 1884, Page 2

THE WEATHER.

A very severe storm of thunder, lightning, wind, hail and rain passed over the district about four o’clock yesterday afternoon. From reports to hand up to the present, the storm seems to have been most severe in the Ashburton Forks and Winchmore districts, where very considerable damage has been done to the crops of wheat and oats Messrs Mossman, Frisby, Corbett,. Oorsbie and Sargent will suffer great loss through the severity of the storm. We are informed that the hailstones that fell were the largest that have been seen in this district for many years. At Greenstree* considerable damage was done to the crops by the severe hail storm, and at Mr Corsbie’s house the glass in several windows was completely shattered. In the neighborhood of Dromore the storm was also very severely felt, and the wind and rain at one time was so severe as to render it a matter of imnossibility for a man to face it on horseback. In this part of the county the principal sufferers are reported to bo Messrs Lee, Brown and MrDowall, one promising crop of barley being completely destroyed. It is also reported that considerable damage has been done to the crops away towards the hills.

During the night heavy showets of hail fell in Ashburton, and altogether it i was more like winter than harvest weather. To-day the weather has also been far from seasonable, and harvesting operations will in consequence be delayed somewhat The Timaru Herald says The weather which for a f«w days had been favorable for the harvest, yesterday took a turn. The wind blew from the South all day, with a threatening sky in the mornb g, and in the afternoon a heavy downpour of rain came on, which, from tho appearance of the sky, was pretty general throughout the district. In the 'lbury district the rain was varied by heavy hail about 4 o’clock. Tow rds evening the wind died away and the sky cleared, and by midnight there was very little cloud to be seen. The rain, it i* feared, will have laid some of the heavier crops, and it must have done some little injury by wetting corn in the sheaf, of which, by this time there is a good deal in various parts of the district.