100 A HAIL SHOWER AND ITS LIMITS. 



beyond Morley Chapel no trace of hail could be found and 

 the road indicated that the shower must have been very slight 

 there. This was at 7 o'clock, about half an hour after the 

 end of the shower, and the sky was clearing decidedly. Low 

 down in the south-west the crescent moon was visible, while 

 in the east and south-east a heavy bank of cloud was moving 

 away — evidently the retreating shower. 



At Les Blanches some rain fell with a little hail, but at 

 7.30 no trace of the hail could be found on the grass, while a 

 measurement of the water in the gauge showed that the 

 shower had only yielded 0*03 in. of water. Temperature in 

 the screen at 7.30 was 38*0 degrees. 



It was, of course, entirely owing to the shower being one 

 of hail, and very heavy, that the line of demarcation (though 

 so well marked) was noticeable. A map of the shower area 

 would, I am sure, prove very interesting. On the main road 

 from the Forest into town the slush and water commenced at 

 the " Elms," near Mr. Ozanne's windmill, a spot just about 

 due west of the " Magazine " along the Fort Road, and half 

 a mile distant as the crow flies. This would seem to indicate 

 a west to east, or east to west direction of movement for the 

 shower. The wind was very light in force that day, and 

 variable in direction, but on the whole, was westerly, and I am 

 inclined to think that the cloud was moving towards the east 

 or south-east. At St. Sampson's the shower is reported not 

 to have occurred, and evidently did not at Claire Mare, at 

 St. Peter's, as Mr. Carey had only 0*03 in. in his gauge on 

 Saturday morning. During Friday night another slight 

 shower occurred at Les Blanches, making a total rainfall of 

 0*06 in. for the twenty-four hours, Mr. Collenette's total rain- 

 fall for the twenty-four hours is 0*31 in., all, or practically all, 

 of which he believes fell during Friday evening's shower. 



The driver of the St. Martin's (Fort Road) 'bus tells me 

 that the shower began at 5.25 p.m., and that when going up 

 Hauteville and George Road a quarter of an hour later the 

 road was then quite white. His reply to my query as to how 

 far towards St. Martin's the ground was covered with hail 

 was ik As far as the houses along the Fort Road." This, it 

 will be seen, agrees with my experience an hour later. The 

 'bus driver also said that the hail lay at least two inches deep 

 on the top of the 'bus, a fact which startled and surprised the 

 St. Martin's people very considerably, no hail having fallen 

 there as already stated. 



