Three Days of Snow in Southland

Chronicle (Levin), 16 June 1949, Page 5

Three Days of Snow in Southland

Proqg Association)

(Per

INVERCARGILL, June 15. Snow which has been falling in most parts of Southland for three days, has made the roads in some district dangerous and in isolated cases has interfered with transport. The area affeeted is a wide one. There" is one ineh of snow at Gore, 18 inches at Fairlight and about four inches at Ohai. Cold southerly winds have brought low temperatures and some sign of snow to nearly the whole of the province. Accompanied %y a high wind, a snowstorm at Lumsden last night almost reached the proportions of a blizzard. Residents of the townshlp were further inconvenienced when the electric power failed last night, leaving the whole area in darkness. The Railways road services between Invercargill and Queenstown were interrupted today by snow at Fairlight and by heavy falls elsewhere. The buses have been unable to traverse the road between Kingston and Lumsden. The train service has been nsed as a sub,stitution "although ' it has been reported that considerable quantities of snow cover the tracks in places. Invercargill had glimpses of snow this morning but it was not stead.y and did not settlfe on the wet ground surface. Early" this afternoon heavier showers of snow were driven over the cit.y by the southwesterly wind. At Bluff rqugh weather prevented work on the wharves. No aircraft. managed to get through to Invercargill today, heavy snowstorms south of Dunedin barring their progress.