WINTER PREVAILS.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18409, 16 June 1925, Page 10

WINTER PREVAILS.

SOUTHERLY CONTINUES. The. southerly storm -which has made conditions in Canterbury" miserable since Friday-continued yesterday. Fortunately, the heavy gale which blew throughout the week-end cleared during Sunday night, but the heavy rain showers continued, , and the ground is saturated. In many of the low-lyjng parts the surface is covered with sheets of water, and both the Avon and Ueathcotc rivers arc running high. N A particularly heavy downpour commenced about, three o'clock yesterday afternoon and continued for about ait hour, and another heavy shower fell from six o'clock until after seven. A spell of sunshine would be beneficia 1 . to both country and town alike, because tho wet weather has had the effect of causing a practically complete cessation of all outdoor work.

'fhe month of June in the South Malvern district, so far, has been very wintry. During last week squally sou ! - westers, cold rain, bail; sleet and snow, intermingled, with severe frosts, were experienced. During the fourteen days of tho month there have been ten wet days. On Friday morning thero was a good coating of snow on the ground, while the back country received a heavy fall. At 4 p.m. a real snowstorm was experienced, but the snow did not Ho long. On Saturday morning there was no snow locally, but parts of Hororata and the Darfield iftid Hawkins districts further down the" country had: received a good coating overnight. Saturday and Sunday the .sou'-wester which, had begun at midnight on Thursday continued with unabated vigour, bringing up frequent" | showers of rain. A feature •of the | storm has been the terrific squalls which camo at frequent internals and found all the weak spots in walls and roofs of dwellings. The rainfall up to 7 a.m. yesterday was 3.37 inches. The fcfelwyn is in high flood, and there iswater lying in all. the paddocks. The last few weeks have convinced residents on these upper levels of the Canterbury Plains that it is indeod winter (writes our Staveley correspondent). About a' fortnight ago a storm brought the snow far down the moun-tain-sides and left.a thick coating on tho summits. The frosts of the succeeding nights were of a severity that only-nearness of snow mid long nights could cause, and in the mornings the .landscape was a tract of whiteness. But the days following were clear and the sun of a warmth that awoke even insect life. Last Wednesday night, however, a sou'-wester blew up and left on the'hills another coating of sriow.. and again on the following night another sou'-wester brought mere snow, and on Friday morning about one inch of snow coveted the countryside. Tho wintry conditions continued over tho week-end.

■ Most changeable -weather is being experienced at Waiau. The rain of Wednesday last, • was followed by a< beautifully fine day, which raised "hopes that a fine spell had set in, but during Thursday night < a soiv-wester sprang up bringing with* it heapy rain, and Ton Friday morning the ranged were seen to have .received a thick coating of snow from foot to summit. The rain continued throughout the day, but towards evening there were .indications of'- it clearing for a frost. 'During the night, however.; further rain fell tollowed. by a .light rail of sno'V. On Saturday the snow soon disappeared,' but the sky remained oVercast, and' shortly before 5 :-p!m. -: almost a 'came .up "from .the south, bringing with it heavy rain squalls. The night was extremely rou^i'' and intensely-'cold',-with-heavy rain; squalls at frequent intervals. These condUtions^prevaile'd/throughout Sunday. Sb&- land: lsiin -a:Jhpm»iglily. saturated condition, arid n-11 farm work will be at a standstill for spm» time. ' In common with the rest of Canterbury, .the. Peninsula has had a.wintry w'eek-end. The southerly storm that brought heaivy rain, with snow in the uplands, on Friday seemed to have blown itself out before noon on Saturday. But a few hours later it came again with increased fury and a boisterfius and bitterly cold gale raged throughout the night. Drenching rain alternated with heavy hail storms, while more snow fell on the upper ranges. . Muddy streams are rushing down every gully, on the hillsides, while every' depression on the lowlands is a pond or lakelet. The gale had practically subsided before Sunday afternoon had worn itself out, but otherwise wintry ' conditions' continued throughout yesterday. A spell of sunshine would now be appreciated. So far no reports are to hand of any damage to roads other than sundry small slips. The weather is still very stormy (writes our Kirwee correspondent). A gale came up from the south-east on Saturday and rain and hail foil heavily during the night. 1 72 points being? registered at 10 a.m. on Sunday. .Showers, fell during the day and were accompanied by a bitterly cold wind, making it very unpleasant" to be out of doors. A further I*2 points of rain were registered at ,5 p.m. Yesterday the wind died down. Another 20 points of rain fell during Sunday night, making a total' of 1.04 inches since Saturday j night and 3.00 inches for the month. The weather at Ladbrooks during the i last week was bleak andi wintry with heavy showers. It .is feared ' that a largo quantity of undug potatoes in the low-lying parts of the district will be ruined by water. Owing to. the weather conditions the crops are considerably later this scr.son than last. The Railway Department advises that about seven inches of snow fell at) Arthur's Pass on Sunday ana was io]-. lowed by a frost. However, the conditions had no adverse'effect on the railway services, which wore able to be run to time. 'Yesterday; was a bright, sunny day at Arthur's Pass. , Though tho glass, had risen at Hanmc* Springs on Saturday morning and there was. a lull in the rough conditions of the previous day, the appearance of the sky, coupled with the fact that the glass again commenced to fall, were accepted as signs that more bad weather might be expocted. As darkness sat in rain commenced to fall, accompanied by all the previous severe conditions, which continued throughout the night. A piercingly cold wind prevailed on Sunday, and there were showers throughout the night. Yesterday morning there were appearances to the of'the weather clearing, and the glass had risen to a-level usually accompanied by fine conditions. ■ Snowhas fallen more or less at the back for several days, and now lies to a considerable depth. If a thaw does not set in it will be serious,'so far as stock is concerned.

. The weather at Oxford for the past week has been of the most wintry character; Snow.fell on Friday morning, and thence till late on Sunday night. a strong south-west wind blew with rain-and sleet, which made things very unpleasant. The land is excessively, wet, and the putting in of crops is effectually stopped, for some time. ■The total rainfall for the week was 2.45 inches.

Kaikoura lias been experiencing cold and wet weather during the' last four days, with a heavy fall of snow on the surrounding ranges and hills. On Sunday there was a heavy south-west wind, with hail. The .last -four' week-ends fiiavei been wet 1 and cold. '■'

Yesterday morning. revealed a very desolate state of affairs in" various parts of-JSumner after the.storm during the week-end-. Fences were' blown down in many cases, and several trees torn up by the roots, while large branches were strewn . about several roads. * At Mount Pleasant, a larce iron tank was

blown c'.jcji ofi its stand- and over a fence.

More settled weather conditions were experienced in Ash burton yesterday, although for the most part the day was bitterly cold. Tho sun 6hone out for a few hours in the morning, hut the sk<- clouded over shortly after midday. A very light shower fell in the afternoon. Towards evening better conditions were evident. Tho weather at Rakaia. on Sunday was very rough and stormy, the wind increasing from the south-west, and heavy showers of rain falling at intervals ■ during the day and evening. The rainfall registered was 80 points. Yesterday morning the rain ceased, and the weather was fairly calm, but there was no sunshine, the sky being heavily overcast. Towards evening a few showers of misty rain fell, T IN SOUTH CANTERBURY, jg, J?!? (special to "tite press.") TIMAR-U, June 13.

There was a slight improvement in the weather conditions this morning, and for a time a northerly wind raised the temperature a little.. In the afternoon, however, another cold southerly sprang up and the sky became heavily overcast.

MARAROA'S LONG TRIP.

PASSENGERS SHAKEN, jlf

After a voyage of nearly 35 hours from Wellington, the ferry steamer Mararoa steamed into just before daylight yesterday morning. She showed, unmistakable, signs of the buffeting she had received, and most no.tieeablo .was. the..encrustation of .salt high up on the funnel. . . . Captain T. B. Sewell, who had been on the bridge almost continuously since tho vessel left Wellington on Saturday night, found time for a minute or two's'ehat with a reporter-before he turned in for a long-overdue sleep. He said that the gale com'mc'need in Wellington at.6 p.m. on Saturday, and the Mararoa encountered' the full force of it as soon as she reached Pencarrow.! Head. In the Strait the wind blew with hurricane force, and tho ship plunged into mountainous seas. Slowed down to tnrce knots, and at times under that, she punched her way across the Strait. After leaving Penearrow,-, the Mararoa made her next landfall at 10.30 o'clock on Sunday night, off Kaikoura. After turning the Kaikoura Peninsula, tho weather commenced to moderate, and the vessel could have arrived at 5 a.m., only that arrangements had been madp to arrive at daylight. "It is easily the worst ferry trip I have ever experienced," concluded Cap tain Sewell.

As was to be expected, the Mararoa 's 130 passengers were most thankful to reach port. They had been battened down most of the time,with huge seas sleeping the decks above, .while the. vessel pitched and rolled in all directions. The condition of the passengers was not so bad as had been expected. Of course, most of them had been sick, very sick, but there was quite a good muster at meal times. The chief steward and his staff worked willingly to. ensure their comfort, and excellent meals were served. Most of the passengers sat and talked, played cards, or wore entertained to gramophone and banjo music.'' A.t the same time it was ,im-. possible to find one who expressed a willingness to go through" the. experience, again. . '..,' y . ",. '.".

GALE MODERATES.

EROSION BY SEA,

(s'pKcut, to "rat tsmsb.")

WELLINGTON, June 15.

Ono of the worst southerly 'gales ever experienced has been sweeping across Cook Strait since Saturday, and though it has not done any very serious 'damage here, it has been most, unpleasant, the wind being bitterly cold and ' accompanied by heavy rain. To-day the gale moderated, but the weather is'still unpleasantly- cold and showery: The breakers dashing on the shore at Lyall Bay and Island Bay.proved a magnificent sight to such as ventured out in that direction. , At Lyall Bay the rollers dashed right across the .esplanade, and, bringing largo quantities of sand with them, had the eft'ect of causing a slight dislocation of the tram service. The end of Onepu road was made a temporary terminus, as cars were unable to proceed past that point. It is likely that heavy seas will rule round the coast for some days, as strong southeasterly to easterly winds are expected to continue. The heavy seas caused some damage to the railway wall on the Hutt line. Two breaches were made on the Petorie side of Ngahauranga,. and the third was just near the Ngahauranga. station. Eepair ; gangs had to be sent out yesterday evening, and in spite of the boisterous weather conditions they were successful in 'minding the breaches. Train traffic to and from "Wellington yesterday- was-run on the inside line only, but a return to normal conditions was possible this morning.

Across the harbour at Eastbourne the heavy seas ..have eaten into the foreshore,; at several jpoints. Some property has been endangered by the erosion that has taken place. . The harbour ferry'service was disorganised, but few wanted to cross the. harbour yesterday. "After this blow," says Bates, "we may expect to enjoy a fairly long spell of good weather.",. •• '

SLIP ON. RAILWAY LINE

'U'BESS ASSOCIATION- TELEOBIK.) • DANNEVIBKE, June 15. A slip occurred on Sunday night be.tween Ormondville and Kopua,. which dislocated railway traffic on the southern Hawke's Bay section to-day. ..'

The troublo occurred at a spot where a slip came down some months back. The cutting has practically been on the move more or less ever since. Passengers by the express trains had to tranship to-day, causing some delay, but it is hoped to resume through traffic tomorrow. The working of other trains is being interfered with..

S.O.S. SIGNALS. •

FROM VESSEL IN COOK STRAIT,

(PBESS ASSOCIATION TELEGBAM.)

WELLINGTON, June. 15,

A report was received to-night from Plimmerton that a vessel in Cook Strait sent up S.O.S. signals. She appeared, to be in the. direction, of Titahi^ Bay; The. steamer - John and the. trawler Futurist are thought to be in! the Strait, but there is- no definite information as to the identity of the vessel. The Government steamer. Tutanekai is being sent to.search. •

(Continued at foot, of next column.)

FINE WEATHER ON WEST COAST.

BUSH FIRES BURNING. ' ,Jd» " ':■'..' • —-. ■■ 4 ■' • (PBESS ASSfCIATIOS TELEOBIIf.) .•,-•-..•' , : WESTPOBT,.June. 15. 'While-most'parts of-the country are more or leas under-, heavy weather, the West Coast .is enjoying beautiful bright days with* an almost entire absence of rain. So far there has .been, onlyone wet Saturday for football this season. Fires are lighted on ; many farms where bush has been falleiij and good burns are reported*