BITTER WEATHER.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18422, 1 July 1925, Page 12

BITTER WEATHER.

| WIND, RAIN AND SLEET. •* , SNOW IN COUNTRY DISTRICTS. [ Any expectations for a clearing up of the weather yesterday morr.'ing w-r;.? shattered, conditions generally looking worse than ever, with a tendency to bocome still worse. The sou*-v.-cst v. in- Xl' creased in force and seemed as if it were blowing straight off the ice at the Pole. Rain, more or less heavy, and accompanied by r. good deal of sleet, continued all c'ay yesterday, and at midday the wind reached the force of a gale. There was no actual fall of sr.ow in the. City, but the Port Hills were covered with snow almost to a foot in places. The City has l.wnc a very snaked aspect, the roads being greasy and side-channels streaming. Only those, whose business necessitated thei:being out of doors were to bo seen in the streets, and tradesmen on delivery vans had an exceedingly unenviable day. Due,'no doubt, to the sbsence of autumn leaves, there was practically no flooding in the streets, although the roads in the suburbs were covered with nonls of water. Almost all over Canterbury there is snow lying at t.ie present time. Last night the- outlook was much brighter. Tbe snowstorm, which began «■. Stave'ev on Sunday, and which threatened to bo a big fall, continued all Mondav. but theugh tho U-M was continuous it was u<>t heavy. On Mondav morning tho snow varied in dei'ths at different places from Sis to eight inches, while at Alford Forest there was a depth of a foot. A firm ul auctioneers had a small clearing sale advertised to take nlace in thn Stavoley district on Mondav afternoon, but when tho stock .-menU arrived there seemod little, chance of a sale being possibly No preparation had been made, and some advocated departing, but _when prospective buyers began to arrive it was decided to carry on, and the sale was conducted under conditions which were unique so far as tbe district in concerned. Snow fell throughout the sale, and though little -difficulty «as experienced .with the stock, finding scattered sundries under a covering of snow was another matter. The sale, however, was quite ;i good one, which was no doubt duo to the buyers and sellers entering into the. fun c.f the affair. Tho rural mail car got through to the Springburn Post Office on schedule time, and though trouble was expected with some of the telephone lines radiating from the exchange, all were, reported to ho in order late oh Mondav afternoon. A heavy snow is feared 'to have fallen up the gorges, as the storm came at first from the northwest, which always means a bad storm for the back country. Yesterday morning broke with n, threatening sky. A bitter wind was blowing and a little snow falling. Wintry conditions prevail in the Kimberley district. At about U o'clock on Sunday night snow commenced to fall, and on Monday at noon the ground was coated to a depth of 3 to 4 inches, with snow still falling. I The weather at Darfield is extremely cold. On Sunday rain- and sleet fell Mid at nisrht snow set in, three inches covering the ground on Monday morning. Snow continued to fall till yesterday. The worst storm for seven years has # raged aver the South Malvern district for tho past three days, and the mils are heavily coated with snow. At G.lentuiinel and Whitecliffs' between lour and five inches fell, but at Ooalgate it was considerably lighter. Conditions would have been much more severe it a high wind had blown, but as it was there was only a moderate wind and, further, the comparatively warm atmosphere caused a continual thaw. Yesterday afternoon, after a snowy morning, a decided thaw set in. Had conditions been otherwise there is no doubt that there would have heen six inches of snow on the ground. All telephone services and motor services have, been maintained at normal. Up to 9 i a.m. yesterday 1.41 inches of V'aita wero recorded. Tho prospects yesterday afternoon -were much brighter. : After some days of mild weather at Burnham, a change occurred oh Friday liigltt, when- there was a hard , frost. , Oil Saturday the atmosphere was particularly cold and remained' so throughout tho day and night. In .the .afternoon several showers of rain fell. Sunday was a cold day with-ia-a.ni falling. On Monday a steady rain, fell nearly all day, and the . temperature was ivery low. Seventeen degrees of frost were experienced at Hanmer Springs on Saturday morning. With the exception of a few hours on Tuesday night, there was no iaiii last week' until .Sunday afternoon, which turned to snow during the night, and on Monday at 11 a.m. there was over an inch on the flats with no signs of the weather clearing. There was very little thaw in the back country; last week and conditions there are serious enough. About three inches of snow covered tho flats yesterday. There was a heavy fall in the back' I country, which, however, ceased yes I terday morning. | Rain set in at Little River on Sunday and continued all yesterday. The river is flowing a banker and the lake is backing up quickly. The water is over the roatl in many pieces between Littlo River and Birdling's Flat, and three large slips are down on tho road, one about a. mile on the township side of fho water trough, one at Caton's Bay, and one close, to Lewthwaites. These slips render the road impassable for traffic, the one nearest Little River having filled tho road up nearly level with the railway line. The cleaving of the road will probably take a week. Tho rain gauge at Mr Dudley Richards's at 9 a.m. "yesterday recorded 3.SX) inches. The mails will probably have to bo carried by rail until the road is clearedTho wintry -weather experienced at Rakaia during the last two days continued yesterday: Snow fell heavily ! until midday, when the clouds Decants I less dense and showers -of sleet and i rain Fell. The southerly wind became stronger arid the rain ceased. The snow disappeared almost as quickly as j it fell, but at Rckeby, a few mile; away, several inches. of snow covered ' tho ground. At Doric and in the districts towards the sea rain fell, but there was no snow. The weather is Still extremely cold. Cold, storiny weather conditions continue in tho Kirwec district, snow and rain falling alternately from 10 a.m. Monday until 10 a.m. yesterday, .the rainfall being 90 points, making a total of 1.42 inches since Saturday. A strong south-west wind has accompanied the rain, and made it very unpleasant for those who had stock to attend to. Snow was falling yesterday morning but it melted as quickly as itfell, although the ground is not yet clear from Sunday night's fall. Snow was lying to a depth of six inches in Methven yesterday morning. The fall has been continuous since Sunday afternoon, but very light. With the glass still falling and no apparent prospect of the snow stopping, the outlook is none too promising. At the foothills and Rakaia Gorge two feet of snow is reported, making motor traffic impossible. Drifto up to four and five feet are to be met with in the cuttings at the Gorge. A very a,ooeptrhle nor'-west spell ended at Kowai Bush en Friday. There was a particularly heavy frost on Saturday morning, and rain fell - L night and on Sunday, but by Mondav morning the ground was covered with several inches of snow. Intermittent showers

of snow* fell all day Monday and yesterday, the weather being bitterly cold. A steady rain has been drench ng the Peninsula for the past 48 hours, and at noon yesterday there was no sign of the -weather clearing. Previous heavy downpours during the past two months has so saturated the subsoil that what has uow been .falling since Sunday midday is simply i mining off the hillsides. Kvery gully carries h muddy, turbulent stream, while the lamer creeks are roaring down bankhigh. Miniature cascades and waterfalls are visible in many places, even from the ?nain traffic road, and there is now-serious danger of bigger slips than occurred six weeks ago. As tbe clouds lift a little occasionally, a fresh coating of snow is noticed on the ranees. The rain eased off during the noon, and remained showery during the evening. The through service cars were blocked br three slips between Little River Hotel and Birdling's Flat, necessitating a walk for the passengers of two miles along the railway line to connect with the other ears. The mail* reached Akaroa nearly two hours behind time. Tbe Eastern Bays maU car met no difficulty in negotiating thn round trip. The'road was foii-.d to be. under the circumstances, fairly good, and the snow on tbe summit was not deep enough to cause any trouble.

Flood conditions are at present existing in the Ellcsmere district in consequence of the rain which fell continuously from Saturday night until earlv yesterday afternoon. Drains and ditches everywhere are full of water, and if the rain, which ceased for a while in the afternoon, starts again and continues for a day or two, the position will be rather serious on many of the farms. The creek which runs through Leestou overflowed its banks in two or three p'aces. and a large stream of water flowed along High street from about 11 in the morning until late in the afternoon, the water in places covering the footpath pletc'.v. Farm lipids, particularly in those parts where there is a. clay subsoil, are waterlogged avl in all directions large slieets'of water may be seen in the paddocks. Last week a start was made with preparations for wheat snwiii<r. and some crop was put in, but the latest rain will call a halt to team work for some time.

FERRY STEAMER DELAYED. The ferry ste-s-mer Maori did not arrive at Lyttelton until 9.30 yesterday morning, over two and a. half hours behind her usual time. Southernbound mi-sengeis failed to connect with the fiivcrc-iigiil exnrcss. ' The Maori encountered dirtv weather right from the wharf at Wellington. The visibility was bad and steady ram fell, with a."moderate wind. The sea, although rough, was not so bad as might have been expected. IN SOUTH CANTERBURY. (SPECIAL TO "THE FHE3S.") TIMARU, June 30. After a day of bitter cold and' ram, a slight improvement in tho weather conditions manifested itself late this afternoon, both rain and wind ceasing, although the skv remained overcast. The country districts aro suffering considerably as a result of the rain and snow. A good deal of land Ims been prepared for autumn sowings of wheat, but operations have had to be abandoned owing to the prevailing condi r tions. It has been stated that a good deal of tho land will have to be worked over again before sowing is effected. The consequence is that unless there is an early return of tine weather, not much wheat will he sown before the spring. Some farmers already have their wheat crops in, but excessive rain will have a very detrimental effect. It is reported that. there was a tall of three inches of snow at Fairhe this morning, and lighter falls are reported from other country districts. The rivers have not as yet been affected to any great extent, but the roads throughout the district are suffering. A report from the Hermitage, Mt. Cook, stated that two feet of snow had fallen, there, and'the snowstorm had not- ceased. There was a fall of snow at Burke's Pass, and several private cars were unable to get through.. After sunny days and frosty nights, a change came on Saturday at Geraldine, which was overcast, and Sunday and Mondav and yesterday were co.d, wet davs On Monday there was a little suow .on the summit of the I Downs and a few flakes fell in the town. On the northern side of the Raiigitata river snow has fallen to varying depths, and a report to hand from Mesopotamia shows that the snowfall there has not been heavy. At Rata Peaks Station, Mount Peel, the snow was said to be 18 inches deep, the depth diminishing as Peel Forest was reached. Naturally, the backcountry sheep people are.anxious, and r.-return of fine weather will be most welcome.

A CHEERLESS OUTLOOK. (rRESS ISSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) WELLINGTON, June 30. Mr Bates, Government Meteorologist, says the present severe weather is in keeping with some long distance forecasts that have been made on the other side of the world. They predict that this winter, as well as next summer are likely to bo cold and unseasonable owing to the lower solar radiation which has been recorded for some time The storm in the north has intensified, but shows signs of moving to the south-east. Twenty inches of snow are reported from Mt. Cook Hermitage The rainfall in Wellington this month was B.ljs inches, nearly double the average.

COLD SNAP IN DUNEDIN. {PRESS ASSOCIATION MLEGF.fIf.) DUNEDIN, June 30. The weather is bitterly co'.d in Dunedin. Heavy rain fell to-day and continues. The hills surrounding the city are white-coated. Work on the waterfront was practically at a standstill, owing to the heavy rain.