Temperature Falls With Wind Change

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30954, 10 January 1966, Page 12

Temperature Falls With Wind Change

The temperature in Christchurch dropped 17 degrees in 15 minutes when a strong north-westerly wind suddenly changed to a south-westerly about 1 p.m. yesterday. In some parts of Christchurch hail and light rain accom-l panied the change, and early I in the evening rain became general. In the early morning the wind was from the east. At 9 a.m. it was blowing a northwesterly, and the temperature was 62 degrees. The temperature rose to 76 degrees at 1 p.m., and with the wind change the temperature dropped to 59 degrees at 1.15 p.m. The weather office at Christchurch Airport said the temperature was 49 degrees at 7 p.m. The wind was still south-westerly, but the weather was expected to clear. Between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. the wind reached speeds up to 54 miles an hour. Timaru had a violent thunderstorm late in the afternoon, with heavy rain and hail

which lasted for nearly 15 minutes. In the Marchwiel area, at the northern end of Timaru, where local storms are usually severe, windows rattled with the thunder, and hailstones the size of peas landed on the ground. After ■ ■ the storm there were scattered showers. Two small boats were damaged when they were blown off the slipway at Wainui, in Akaroa Harbour, after the wind changed suddenly to the south-west about 12.40 p.m. The boats fell on to rocks beside the slipway, and minor ■ damage was done to their hulls. Some small craft in the water were towed in by a launch. At Akaroa, Mr R. Davis, who runs a fleet of boats for hire heard the weather forecast and let only rowing boats go just a short distance from the shore. One man who hired a boat and used his own outboard motor beached the boat as soon as he saw the wind coming. Mr Davis said that one of two yachts were blown over, but nb damage was done.