THE WEATHER.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18423, 2 July 1925, Page 13

THE WEATHER.

+—. TORRENTIAL RAIN. STREETS AND SQUARE FLOODED. The persistent rain which lias been falling since Saturday developed into a miniature c-loud-lur.st last niglit, when torrential rain fell, flooding the side-channels and in some cases covering the streets. In the very early hours of yesterday indications were that a change to rincr weatner had .set in, as the clouds had cleared and the moan was shining. Rut at about 3 a.m. heavy rain commenced to fall, and continued for sonic time. The rest of the morning saw light drizzling rain. an.! appearances at mid-day again gave the impression that a break could be expected. However, at 3 p.ui. heavy rain commenced to fall, and between the hours of 4.30 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. a miniature cloudburst was experienced, accompanied by a bitterly cold wind. The rain came down in such volume that the channels in the city and suburbs were soon overflowing, and the water in a great many cases spread over the roads, which presented the spectacle of wide sheets of water. Sydenham Park was liko a lake, and many of the street corners were impassable except by those fortunate ci'ough to be wearing gum-boots.

In Worcester street, between Stanmore road and Rolleston street, the water collected and stretched across the roadway, and in low-lying parts of the City and suburbs people had great difficulty in ascertaining where the kerbing was situated. Parts of Cathedral square were flooded, conditions being especially bad in the corner occupied by the Liberty Theatre and Warner's* Hotel, in the latter case the sheet of wntc-r spreading as far as the front of ' : Tbc Press" office. A largo quantity of water collected at the corner of Hereford street and Oxford terrace, near the Y.M.C.A.. and tho Avon, where it divides at the Hereford street bridge was a swirling torrent of muddy water, a good deal deeper than when normal. Prom about 7.30 p.m. tuitij 9.30 p.m. the rain eased off, but commenced with renewed force, and continued almost without intermission throughout tho nijht. Outlying districts will have suffered badly, and it is expected that a considerable amount of damage will have been done to crops and gardens. No interruption in the tramway service was reported, and the applied to the railways when enquiries were made last night. The rainfall recorded at ''The Press" Office for the 21 hours ending 1 o'clock this morning was " 3.52 in, making a total since Saturday of 2.92iti. Wintry conditions prevail at Leithficld. The cold winds continue, together with showers of rain and sleetSnow fell yesterday morning, but the ground was too wet to allow it to settle. A rift in the clouds at noon disclosed somo of the hills whose coating of snow -was low down. In many .places the low-lying ground is nnder water owing chiefly to the. saturated condition, of the "soil, which cannot absorb the moisture. The rainfall from noon on_ Tuesday to.S a.m. yesterday was .25 inches. The rain eased off at Little River yesterday morning, but in the afternoon fell heavier than ever. The lake is rising fast. The. Wnirewa County Council is sending teams down to-day ti start letting the lake out. This will probably take about two days. Several more slips came down on tho main road between Little River and .Birdlittg's Flat on Tuesday night. Little can be do no towards clearing the read until the rain stops and the lake is let out.

The wet weather, whied\ shows no sign of abating, lias caused the Halswell river to rise tremendously, and at present the flood waters are causing farmers some anxiety. It is the worst flood experienced for many years. Tho big drain near Mr A. I). Jones's farm has burst its banks, and many paddocks are completely submerged. The weather appeared to be clearing somewhat at Methven yesterday, although more snow fell during the morning. A decided thaw set in later and tho snow was soon slipping from buildings and trees. After a day's heavy rain at RuaT>una, snow commenced to fall about 7 p.uu, and continued until 8 p.m. on Monday. On Tuesday mornin.<r snow was lying about five inches deep in tho open spaces. Practically no work lias been done on the Lyttelton waterfront since noon on Saturday owing to the almost cont.imiouis rain. The . present' is tin: longest hold-up of shipping at Lyttelton by adverse weather conditions for some, years. Vessels fere continuing to arrive, daily and tho wharves are getting fully occupied. Tho delay is serious to the ships concerned, some ol' which have now been in port over a week. The Mararoa arrived a-boitt two hours behind her usual time yesterday morning. Tho vessel encountered a strong southerly gale, witli heavy seas on tho whole of the voyage until she was actually in Lyttelton Harbour. Other vessels arriving report heavy seas all along the coa.«t. Another two inches of snow fell at Hanmor Springs during Tuesday night. After dealing up on Tuesday afternoon, rain set in again at llangiora during the night. Yesterday was an exceptionally wet day. The whole country is now almost waterlogged. Since Saturday c, very cold southerly has been blowing at Sefton, bringing with it almost continuous 'showers of rain and sleet. When the clouds lift occasional glimpses of Bnow-covered downs can-he seen. Already a con-, siderablo amount of lend in the swamp is covered with water and the general otulook is not very satisfactory. The rain at Akaroa eased off towards midday yesterday, but set-in agaiil early in the afternoon, growing heavier towards evening. Small slips are reported in different parts of the Peninsula. The Eastern Bay mail car just managed to get through. The driver reports that the Summit road, especially between Lo Bon's and tho Long Bay saddle, is in a very bad state, also tho upper portion of the Long Bay road on the Akaroa side. He expects that these will be blocked to-day by heavy slips. The amount of water rushing down the hillsides is almost incredible, and must have a disastrous effect on tho steep slopes already saturated and showing signs of giving way. The Service cars from Little River, which arrived late last night, reported a slip on the Little River side, bclow thc Hilltop. The drivers and male passengers cleared a track to let the cars through. Passengers going to Akaroa. had to walk four miles alon<,' the' railway I rack on the Ciiristehurch nde of the Little River Hotel, where another big slip took place. The rain was still pouring dbwn in torrents last uight. It ■is likely that that portion of tho "Main road will be blocked for miles. It is stated that there are over two feet, of water in the houses near the station at Little River, and it was reported last night that the water was still rising. It was still raining heavilyin Akaroa last night, with half a gale blowing from the south-east. It is considered that it! the rain does not cease conditions on the Peninsula will be serious.

POVERTY BAY RAINFALL. (SPECIAL TO "TH* PEIBS.") GI&BOR.NE, July 1. The rainfall recorded tor June at Tapuwaeroa, near Ruaiorea. was i' 0.50 inches, the total for the past two months being 41.72 inches.

FLOODS IN BAY OF PLENTY. (rHESS ASSOCIATIOX TELEGHAM.' ATiH.AKATANE, July 1. Tho Piangitaiki River is still high, and nearly thirty thousand acres are submerged. Tho bridge at Thornton was washed away, a.nd settlers are still faced with anxiety. The extent of the damage cannot bo fully ascertained nntil tho waters; recede. An aged Maori woman was drowned at To Teko. Tho total rainfall during tho last seven days has been seven and a-halt inches. Passengers for Matata yesterday traversed the flooded areas in boats. CONDITIONS IN DUNEDIN. „ (press association telegram.) DUNEDIK, July 1. There was a thick fog and a st?ady drizzle all the morning, but conditions improved, slightly in the afternoon. Heavy rain commenced early in the evening and fell steadily for several hours, and it was still pouring at a late hour to-night. There has been a heavy fall of snow in the back country during the past few days. The rivers aro up a little, but there is no danger of floods at present, as the snow has not yet thawed. WET SPELL IN NAPIER. (r-SESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) NAPIER, July 1. The wet period, which has extended over five or six weeks, continues. Rain fell on 23 days during June, totalling nearly seven inches, against three inches in the previous June. The rivers have risen considerably, and in view of the waterlogged state of tho country and the heavy sea, it is not unlikely that floods will occur soon if the rain continues.