Violent Hailstorm Sweeps North Otago

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 556, 8 January 1929, Page 16

Violent Hailstorm Sweeps North Otago

CROPS DESTROYED HOODS TORN FROM CARS Press Association O AMARU, To-day. A severe thunderstorm, accompanied by a furious downpour of hail and jagged pieces of ice the size of hen eggs, leaving in its wake a trail of serious damage, passed over portions of North Otago between one and two o’clock this afternoon. The districts which suffered include Otepopo, Kauru, Incholme, Maruakoa, Enfield, Windsor and Ngapara. Strangely enough, although a heavy shower, accompanied by thunder and lightning, fell in Oamaru, the toAvn escaped the full fury of the storm, and while the Five Forks area was swept the storm passed over Clifton Falls, where the dust was blowing from the road. Many farmers are faced with a severe loss, crops ready for the binder being laid waste, and the whole season’s cropping going for nought in a few minutes. Root crops suffered similarly. A settler at Incholme was about to take his binder into the wheat crop when the downpour came, and now he is wondering whether it is worth while, as the heads of wheat are almost completely stripped. The full force of the storm was received at Maruako.

At Five Forks two paddocks of wheat and one of oats, owned bv Mr. George Ludeman, were completely destroyed, similar disastrous results attending the neighbours’ crops. A paddock of mangolds was ripped up as if cut with a whiplash. Window panes were smashed. Damage of this nature extended to practically every house along the route.

Enfield and Windsor fared little better, and a gaping hole was torn in the corrugated iron roof of Mr. T. S. Little’s woolshed at Corriedale. Motorists had an unenviable experience. Practically every car out in the storm will require a new hood, damage in this respect running to a substantial amount. Two closed cars which arrived in town looked as though the hoods liad been ripped with knives, while the hoods of open cars were completely pierced, offering no protection to the occupants. • i5 e *P rosi>ects for an excellent grain yield throughout the district had been bright, but the storm ruined many crops on the very eve of harvest. No estimate can possibly be made of the damage, but it must run • into thousands of pounds. A visitation of a similar nature descended on North Otago some years ago with equallv disastrous results. y