Whirlwind and hard gale at Houhora

A brief whirlwind at Houhora, winds up to 75 knots at Cape Reinga and drenching showers coming at regular intervals over Kaitaia, were some of the most annoying points in the storm on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The whirlwind roared in from Houhora Harbour over Pukenui on Tuesday afternoon, cutting a track two chains wide and half a mile through scrub.

It broke all the windows at Mr. P. H. D. Smith’s house and flopped a caravan over on its back.

Power lines ere pulled off the wall at Mr. W. D. Tynan’s home when a macrocarpa was blown down.

Here and elsewhere, wattles and other shelter trees were left like fowls with their necks wrung.

For most of Wednesday Cape Reinga recorded a 75- knot wind.

This affected the telephone line but did not prevent four car loads of tourists struggling up to the top of the island.

The tug Toiler with her fertilizer barge in tow, came up Parengarenga Harbour in the teeth of the gale but found that she could not ease speed to shorten her tow rope for berthing, and she had to go right up the channel to get under the lee of the land before she could bring the barge alongside.

Nothing appeared to be at sea and all fishing boats were at their berths.

The wind was not so severe in Kaitaia. Strongest gust was 43 knots at 12.30p. m., and the average was 25 knots from noon to 3. p. m.

At one stage 40- knot gusts were coming about every 40 minutes. The wind backed from north- west to south- west as it moderated.

Rainfall was 1.07 inches to 9. a. m. Wednesday, and 0.27 inches to 9. a. m. Thursday.

The Wednesday afternoon aircraft did not call at Onerahi or at Kaikohe.

Kaikohe passengers were brought up and down by taxi to Kaitaia.

June 4, 1965