ELECTRICAL DISTURBANCE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 62, 12 April 1946, Page 5

ELECTRICAL DISTURBANCE

SEVERE THUNDER STORM Although the thunder storm which occurred on Wednesday afternoon was only of a minor nature as far as the town of Whakatane was concerned, it was of a far more serious nature further out on the plains, a number of reports having been received from motorists who experienced .difficulty caused not only through the lightning, but also through the sheets of water which fell, almost totally obliterating visibility.

One case in particular, occurred where the lightning actually stopped a car. The motorist in question was almost out of the Waiohau Gorge, when the storm commenced immediately overhead. In the midst of a rather awe-inspiring electrical display, the engine of the car suddenly back-fired and stopped. In the few minutes in which the vehicle was standing, amidst the drenching rain which fell in sheets, reducing visibility to a mere ten feet or so, a considerable amount of water was driven through the engine, necessitating a later drying of the distributor, before it could be restarted.

The storm passed over, but the driver in question had not escaped it, for between the corner of Luxton’s Road, and the Whakatane River Bridge, he again encountered it, although this time passed through it without undue difficulty. Other motorists were, however, not so fortunate, and five or six were noticed parked on the side of the road, waiting for the storm to clear in order to carry out operations on their respective distributors.

The Whakatane river bridge, was several inches deep in water after the deluge. Reports indicate that the storm swept the plains in a circular direction, and although residents of Kopeopeo experienced the fringes of it, the town itself received only a few showers of rain with a small amount of .thunder in the background.