Hopes for warmer weather after severe cold spell

Taupo Times, Volume XIV, Issue 60, 3 August 1965, Page 1

Hopes for warmer weather after severe cold spell

Calmer conditions and a slight rise in temperature today ended one of the bitterest spells of cold weather in what is one of the worst winters on record in the Taupo district. For the past five d Taupo has been ringed in with snow-falls, with touches lying down as far as the Tv. translator on Saturday. District roads to the south have been virtually impassable during most of the five days and passenger transport schedules have been disrupted.

Snow on the Desert Road, which trapped a number o£ Taupo cars on their way to the Rugby test in Wellington on Friday night, niade it impossible for even large buses to travel that way. Many of the alternative routes were also blocked with snow and slips. Some Rugby enthusiasts did not get to Wellington at all. In Turangi yesterday, all work on the site preparation for the Tongariro power development stopped when men could not be transported to the sites. In the township itself, conditions were cold

and blustery but it was "business as usual" for the contractors and Ministry of Works men preparing the ground for residential and business sites. Snow fell in both Taupo and Turangi on Saturday and Sunday morning and travellers on the road between Tokoroa and Atiamuri reported about an inch lying on the ground. In the Hilltop area of Taupo, and in Nukuhau, quite discernible falls were reported. According to old residents, this would be the most severe winter experienced for many years past. Farmers report their pastures hard hit by the frosts and biting winds, and stock, particularly ewes in lamb and cows in calf, are losing their peak condition. Most farmers have been feeding hay for some time now.