THE WEATHER.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16433, 29 January 1919, Page 8

THE WEATHER.

STEADY FALL OF RAIN

The' ram which sot in on Monday evenin" continued all day yesterday, and mid-winter conditions prevailed. .Morning broke with rain falling lightly; conditions gradually became worse, with a result that a rain, not exactly heavy, but very penetrating, fell for the remainder of the day, and was still falling at a late hour last night.

On Monday morning it was apparent at lvirwee that a change in the weather was at hand. The wind veered to the south-west, and light showers fell till I p.m., when rain-began to fall heavily, and continued all night. At midday yesterday rain was still falling, l.i9m havinjz been registered. Some paddocks of wheat which had been reaped havo not been stookod, whilst in others the. stooks have been badly blown about, and a lot of re-stooking will now have to (be done. There should now be a failamount of stubble-feed, and rape and turnips will grow quickly. Grass paddocks will be freshened and feed improved generally. Some stook threshing has been done, but this operation •will be stopped for a time. White clover cutting has been started. A rather Rood idea was seen or. Mr H. Cook's farm at C-ourtenay. A platform was attached to a mower, and as the clover was cut a man raked it off the platform. . All the heads, which luui been cut verv abort, fell through a riddle attached to the platform and into a receptacle underneath. This box was emptied at intervals on the way round the paddock, and it was quite surprising to see the amount of heads which were saved; there appeared to be no waste about on the stubble.'

After experiencing very hot nor'-wes weather for some time, the win' changed to the south at _ Darfield oi Monday forenoon, when rain set in an has continued since. The rain was ver much needed, and will do a lot of goo to root crops. During Monday nigh it became very cold, and continued •; all day yesterday. Following a week oi hot nor'-wes weather, a change came at Akaroa lat on Monday afternoon. The wind chop pod round to the south, bringing up i light rain that became heavier as th< night wore on, and continued through out yesterday. The change is most un forainate for the grass-seeding opera tions. The harvest is unduly late, am this further interruption will «not im prove the quality of the seed. In the South Malvern district, aftei a week or more of dry and sultry weather, with nor'-west winds prevailing a very welcome change took place al about 9 a.m. on Monday. The wind which had been chopping from norwest to south-west and" back again during Sunday, finally settled in the sou'west, and shortly afterwards rain began to fall. Although showeiy at firstthe rain gradually increased. Early or Monday evening the wind dropped again, and until about 5 a.m. yesterday torrential rain fell. After that hour the wind rose again, and the day to showery. Up to 8 a.m. yesterday 224 points of rain had fallen, and up to 4 p.m. a further 60 points fell, making 284 points in all. The downfall has been welcomed by farmers and gardeners. It will give the finishing touch -s.fl the later wheat and oat crops, and will stimulate turnips and rape. Unless th« wind becomes boisterous, it will not hinder harvest work to any great extent, as very little has been done. The spell of hot, dry weather at Parnassus was succeeded by heavy- rain, which commenced carl}' on Monday even and continued all day yesterday. The rain is much needed, as the feed has been fast drying up, to which fact the general russet appearance of 4 the surrounding country bears testimony!, Very heavy rain, with wintry conditions, has fallen throughout the Oxford district. ITp till 9 a.m. yesterday 2.00 in had fallen, and it continued throughout the day. "While the rain was most welcome for pastures and for fodder crops, such as rapo and turnips, its continuance might be injurious to the heavy crops of wheat and oats. The rain which commenced to fall at Ashburton about 9 a.m. on Monday was still falling last evening. The gauge at the Domain weather station up to 2.30 p.m. yesterday registered 2.60 in. For the twenty-four hours a fall of 2.20 in was recorded. The rain is general throughout the county, and has been exceptionally heavy along the foot of the hills and in the back country. The Ashburton river is in flood. The south-west rain which began at Rangiora _on Monday evening has continued without abatement ever since. The ground is now thoroughly soaked, arid if the rain continues much longer serious damage will be done to the crop.?. Some fields of grain have been, beaten down. Rain sot-in at Geraldine about 9 a.m. on Monday morning and caused farmers who had started harvesting operations -to call in their team? The rain has continued from the time mentioned, and at midday yesterday the clouds were as thick as ever, and the streams were rising. Some of the grain is reported to be laid by the rain, but if the weather clears shortly little harm is likely to be done. The rain will benefit the turnip and rape crops. HEAVY RAIN IN THE MACKENZIE COUNTRY. 1 SNOW AT THE HERMITAGE. (srECIAL TO "TUB PRESS.") TIMARU, January 28. The heaviest rain that has fallen in the Mackenzie Country during the past few years was experienced yesterday and to-day. Though the rain was not anted down country, it was welcomo in the Mackenzie Country, where the. paswere in need of a good soaking, such as thej' have received now. There was a fall of snow at the Hermitage to-day, and the Mount Cook cars were unable to get to or from the Hermitage. The creeks rose very quickly, and the approaches to some of the bridges were partially washed away. It was expected to-night*, however, that the service would be resumed to-mor- , row. I SERIOUS FLOOD 3IN THE I SOUTH. ! ! BALCLUTHA'S GRAVE PLIGHT. I (PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) DUNEDIN, January 28. As a result of the heavy rain during the past few days, railway traffic on the South line was interrupted to-day. On reaching Stirling the passengers had to walk about a quarter of a mile b e " fore rejoining the train. Balclutha is experiencing the most anxious time since the record flood of 1878. The embankment protecting the town has stood the terrific strain 60 far, but fears are entertained that unless the flood waters abate, the structure will give way. A large number of men were engaged placing sandbags on the embankment to-day to prevent the water breaking through. . , To-night the residents of tb© ' ow ®* part of the town were warnod to De prepared to vacate their houses. At 10 p.m. urgent for assistance were,

sent out, as danger of the gravest nature threatened. ! The Barnego Settlement is completely under water, and the settlers' houses are isolated. The Balelutha dairy factory is surrounded by sft of water. The river flooded to a depth of 3i't, and to-day water covered East Taieri to a depth of 3ft. Tho rain, has abated in Central Otago. The Kawarau river will quickly drain off, but the Clutha is likely to remain at a high level for 6ome time. The Clutha river dredges will bo stopped for owing to the impossibility of coaling and the mooring being under water. Kaitangata is cut off from Stirling by rail owing to floods. The water is banking up, and the inhabitants are leaving their houses.