TE TEKO LASHED BY SEVERE HAIL ON MONDAY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 21, 17 November 1948, Page 5

TE TEKO LASHED BY SEVERE HAIL ON MONDAY

District Suffers 1 Thunder And Rain Concentrated almost entirely on one area, one of the heaviest hail storms ever experienced by residents in this district lashed the township of Te Teko on Monday .afternoon mercilessly for about 15 minutes. During that time .it flattened gardens, overflowed in the .gutters, caused miniature floods and lay on the ground to a depth of six inches. About the size of fair-sized marbles, some nearly half an inch in -diameter, the hailstones came down hard and fast and made such a din -that conversation had to be carried on in shouts. Outside in the gardens vegetables were flattened and some'places of .cultivation were completely ruined. Fruit trees were robbed of their fruit and the viciousness of the i stones could be seen by the scars from broken twigs. Yesterday flowgardens presented a dreary picture of broken, bedraggled blooms. No serious damage and no broken windows were reported and, according to one resident, this is due almost entirely to the absence of wind at the time of the storm. The -stones fell almost straight down and had little chance to wreck any property. ' While the hailstorm was confined to Te Teko the remainder of the Eastern Bay of Plenty during Monday and Monday night suffered a heavy thunderstorm with hard, • driving rain. During the day clouds could be • seen mounting high from the southwest. They were of a deep midnight blue and as they approached thunder could be heard rumbling in the distance. The storm however, just missed Whakatane and moved •eastwards over the hills towards -Opotiki. . , It broke there during the day and right up until late, pouring rain came down in torrents accompanied by vivid streaks of lightning and -deafening thunder. ‘Rivers and streams showed the effects, but little damage was reported. In the afternoon the district . around Whakatane was menaced by the storm but apart from a .few rumbles of thunder and •one or two light showers it did not break until about 7.30 in the evening. It did not last long, and moved to the east over, Ohope and finally • out across the sea.