HEAVY SNOWFALL

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19985, 10 July 1939, Page 4

HEAVY SNOWFALL

WORST FOR 36 YEARS EXPERIENCE ON COAST LITTLE NKAIJ GISBORNE WAIKOHU THUNDERSTORM The Gisborne district lias not suffered severely from the cold snap that has gripped some other parts of the Dominion, and only light falls of snow were experienced on the high country, although on the Coast there were some particularly heavy falls.

Bitterly cold conditions were experienced on the upper end of the Coast on Friday afternoon, and the Herald’s Tikitiki correspondent writes that snow lay thick on the high country at the bade of Ruatoria and Te Araroa.

At Pukearamu. at tile back of Te Araroa, the snowfall was the heaviest for flii years, and the mountain presented an unusual and picturesque sight. Snow is seldom seen there. The cold conditions continued on Saturday.

On life high country round Gisborne, the snow did not commence until yesterday afternoon, when light sprinklings fell at, the highest points. Las); /night', however. the fall was heavier, although not sufficient to lie in thick drifts, and little of it was left this morning. Storm on Wharerata Members of basketball and soccer teams who visited Napier during the week-end ran into a snowstorm after leaving Morcre last night, the snow continuing until they were descending Wharerata Hill. A member of one of tire teams who came from England stated that the snow flakes were particularly large, reminding him of some of the heavy snowstorms he experienced at Home. Apparently the snow did not last very long, for if was not lying thickly this morning. On the hills in the Waikohu County light snow fell yesterday afternoon, most of it coming down in a heavy squall which passed over towards the Coast. A heavy thunderstorm cut a narrow path through the hill country, and at Waikohu there was a heavy, though brief, fall of bail.