TERRIFIC STORM.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 103, 17 September 1912, Page 8

TERRIFIC STORM.

BURSTS OVER AUCKLAND.' Auckland, September 15. A phenomenal t,orm burst over Auckland on Saturday night, lasting from about 10 o'clock until 10.30 o'clock and culminating in a terrific downpour of hail. Old residents describe the electrical disturbance as one of the worstthat has ever been witnessed in Auckland. The lightning was so frequent as to be almost continuous, and, during the period of the s-torm, one peal of thunder was followed instantly by the crash and rumble of' the next. Throughout, the rain was tropical. At one time the lower .part of Queen street was running knee-deep in water, as many ladies, who braved the storm in. order to reach the shelter of tramcars, learned to thair discomfort. Several premises in the lower-lying streets were flooded, and doubtless Monday's' resumption of business will bring to light tales of damage and destruction in storage cellars. Quite the feature of the storm, however, was the lightning. At the outset it was of the safe and spectacular "sheet" variety, but, as the full fury of the elements were let loose, sightseers at open doors and windows fled into , their houses when vivid flashes of forked lightning began to bisect the night. Seen across the open spaces to the horizon, the sight was a magnificent one, the wicked zigzag streaks spreading from one end of the sky to the other. It was possible to see for miles when the flashes came, and they lasted for an abnormally long time. •Einally, down came the hail, and indoor conversation was drowned most effectually. It was impossible to hear one another in the tremendous din and rattle of hailstones on the roof and windows. Some of the stores were as big as pigeon's eggs, and in various quarters windows were smashed. So heavy was the fall that this morning's early milkmen found heaps of hail frozen into i piles in every doorway. The passing of the storm left a starry . night, and to-day is clear and fine.