574 Notes, Communications, and THE SUMMER OF 1899. Ir is very doubtful whether the present century has witnessed a summer at once so fine, so warm, and so dry as that which has recently passed away. For the country as a whole there are, unfortunately, no reliable meteorological records extending back for more than five-and-twenty or thirty years. Prior to this the observations were made only at a few scattered places, and even in some of these the methods of taking them left much to be desired. When so exceptional a season occurs as that of the present year, the inquirer is therefore at a loss to find any basis for an adequate comparison, most of the existing records being left so far behind. For Greenwich there are, however, observations of temperature and rainfall of an unimpeachable character dating back as far as the year 1841, and from these it may be gathered that the past summer was the warmest experienced since 1868 and the driest since 1864. With these two exceptions it was not only as warm, but also as dry, as anything recorded during the whole period of close on sixty years. The sunshine records at Greenwich do not cover nearly so long a period, no systematic observations having been made earlier than 1876. Since then there has certainly been no summer so bright as the last, the only seasons to compare with it being those of 1887 and 1897. The summer commenced with fine dry weather, lasting throughout the earlier half of June. In the latter part of that month, however, and the first week in July the atmosphere fell into a far less settled state, rain being somewhat frequent, with thunderstorms in not a few places. After this the weather again settled down into a fine, dry, and very warm condition, the improvement lasting until the close of the third week in July, when severe thunderstorms and heavy rains were experienced in many parts of the country. At the end of the month the weather improved, and until very nearly the close of August was almost always fine, warm, and dry, the only material exception occurring between the fifth and seventh, when thundery conditions again set in for a time. In the southern counties the wheat harvest was secured at an unusually early date and under the most advantageous conditions, the continued dry weather Temperature, Rainfall, and Bright Sunshine experienced over England and Wales during the Fourteen Weeks ended Sep tember 2, 1899. NOTE-The above Table is compiled from information given in the Weekly Weather Report of the Meteorological Office. The averages employed are: For Temperature, the records made during the twenty-five years, 1871-95; for Rainy Days, the values for the fifteen years, 1881-95; for Total Rainfall, those for the thirty years, 1866-95; and for Bright Sunshine, those for the fifteen years, 1881-96, 7.0 73 755 +228 53 912 +248 49 +14 60 +16 736 +184 47 +11 - 23 5.5 56 - 25 3.6 50 909 +257 966 +246 60 + 17 65 + proving, however, less beneficial to the root crops and also to the pastures, which rapidly assumed a very parched aspect. After August 23 or 24 a gradual break up occurred, and towards the close of the month rain fell very generally, the amount in the southern and eastern districts being, however, too slight to prove of much benefit to the crops, or of any real service in replenishing the water supply, the latter being in some places alarmingly deficient. Early in September the rainfall became more plentiful, but in many parts of the country it was not sufficient to make up for the large deficiency, which had been gradually accumulating for so many months past. The leading features in the weather of the summer are shown in a statistical form on p. 575, the following remarks giving further details of interest in the history of each particular element. Temperature. With the exception of a short period about the middle of June the mean temperature was constantly above the average, the excess being mostly slight in the earlier half of the season, but very large in the second and third weeks in July and the first and fourth weeks in August. For the season as a whole the mean temperature was consequently very high, the excess ranging from a little under 2° in the north-eastern and eastern counties to very nearly 3° in the southern, and to more than 3° in the southwestern counties and the Channel Islands. In July and August the night temperatures were unusually high, but throughout the season generally the excess of warmth was greatest in the day time, this being especially the case in the more central and southern parts of the country. In the midland and southern counties the day temperatures for the whole season were more than 4°, and in the south-western counties more than 5° above the average. A comparison with previous seasons shows that over the country generally the summer was the warmest experienced for very many years past. In London it was much warmer than anything on record since at least the year 1871, the only seasons that at all compared with it being, in the order named, those of 1876, 1893, 1897, and 1887. The highest temperatures of the summer occurred as a rule on August 25, when the thermometer in the shade rose to 85° or more in nearly all districts, and to 90° in London, as well as at Cambridge and Llandovery (Carmarthenshire). Over the eastern, central, and southern parts of the country, however, the thermometer rose very nearly, and in some cases quite, as high on or about July 20, the readings on this occasion being also above 85° in many places, and as high as 90° at Cambridge. In most districts the extreme temperatures were rather higher than those registered in the summer of 1898, but about the same as in 1897. It may be remembered, however, that in the eastern, central, and southern parts of the country the highest readings of last year occurred not in the summer season proper, but in the month of September, the temperatures on or about the 8th of that month being a trifle higher than anything recorded this year. The lowest temperatures of last summer occurred in the week ending June 3, and mostly on May 28, a date lying outside the proper boundary of the summer season. In many parts of the country the sheltered thermometer at this time fell to the freezing point or even a trifle below it. The nights were, however, almost as cold on or about June 14, and although the sheltered thermometer did not quite touch the freezing point, there were many places in which slight frost occurred on the surface of the ground. At Hillington, in Norfolk, the thermometer on the grass fell on the night of the 14th to a minimum of 28°. Leaving out of account the low readings of May 28, the absolute minima for last summer were not quite so low as those registered in the season of 1898 or of 1895; they were, however, lower than in 1897, 1896, or 1894. Rainfall. This was almost throughout very deficient, the only times with any general excess being the third and fourth weeks in June and the last week in August. In the third week in July there was an excess, but only in the northern and extreme southern parts of the country. Taking the season as a whole the rainfall was exceedingly deficient, not only as regards quantity but also with respect to frequency. Excepting in the north-west the total amount was in no district equal to two-thirds of the average, and in the eastern and southern counties it was little more than half, while in the midland counties and the Channel Islands it was only just one-half the normal quantity. The deficiency in the number of days with rain was quite as remarkable as in the aggregate fall, this feature being especially marked in the southern counties and the Channel Islands, where the total number was only one-half of the normal. Over the south of England as a whole the summer was apparently not quite so dry as that of last year, while in the northeast the amount of rain in the two seasons was about equal. In all other districts, however, the past summer was the driest experienced for several years past, the remark applying with special force to the south-eastern corner of England. As regards the London district, a record kept at Brixton since the year 1866 shows no such previous summer either as regards the amount or the frequency of rain. During the three summer months the total fall at Brixton was only 2.08 inches (or 30 per cent. of the average), the nearest approach to such an amount occurring, singularly enough, last year, when the total was 2.67 inches. In no other summer of the past 33 years did the rainfall at Brixton amount to less than 3 inches. Greenwich a longer record is available. From this it would appear that the amount of rain last summer (2-83 inches) was the smallest registered at the Observatory since the year 1864, or with that single exception in any of the past 58 years. The only other summer with a rainfall under 3 inches was in 1869, when the total was 2.91 inches; in 1898 the amount of rain at Greenwich was as much as 3.95 inches, or more than an inch in excess of the quantity registered this year. In August last the total fall at Greenwich was about a tenth of an inch smaller than anything registered since, at least, the year 1841, and from a comparison with a less reliable record, going back very nearly to the beginning of the century, it would appear to have been the driest August since the For year 1818. The heaviest individual falls of rain experienced last summer were associated in nearly all cases with thunderstorms, the latter being somewhat rare in the south-eastern districts, but unusually frequent in most other parts of the country. The periods of greatest electrical disturbance occurred about the following times: (1) Between June 27 and July 1, when nearly all districts were affected, the rainfall being heavy at many western stations. (2) Between July 6 and 8, and mostly on July 7; on the 8th a very heavy fall of rain and hail occurred at Canterbury. (3) Between July 20 and 23, the storms being especially severe in the southern and eastern districts; the falls of rain on the 22nd and 23rd were in many cases extremely heavy, the largest amounts of which we have at present any notice being on the 23rd, when 3.3 inches fell at Portsmouth, 2.8 inches at Broomfield Hall, Chelmsford,' and 2.3 inches at Sudbury. On the 22nd, at Cullompton (in Devonshire), a fall of 1.9 inch was registered in two hours. (4) Between August 3 and 7, and more particularly on the 4th and 5th, the fall of rain being again heavy in many of the western districts. (5) On August 14 and 15, but especially on the latter date, when very severe storms over the eastern and midland counties were accompanied by torrential rains and destructive falls of hail; at Hillington (Norfolk) the rainfall amounted to 1.5 inch. (6) Between August 27 and 31, the rain being again heavy in places, but not so large as on many previous occasions. Bright Sunshine.-With the exception of the third and fourth weeks in June the duration of sunshine was almost always in excess of the average, the brightest periods of all being the earlier half of June and the first and fourth weeks in August. Taking the summer as a whole, the amount of sunshine was consequently very large, especially over all the more central and southern parts of the country, where the total number of hours was greatly in excess of anything recorded for many years past. At Greenwich Observatory the duration was by far the largest observed since the recording instrument was started in 1876, the only summers to compare with it being those of 1887 and 1897. Last summer the total duration at Greenwich was 756 hours; in 1887 it amounted to 715 hours, and in 1897 to 651 hours, the only other summer with more than 600 hours being 1877. It is rather singular to notice that with the exception of this year each of these very sunny seasons occurred at intervals of 10 years. In the north-east of England the duration of sunshine last summer was scarcely so great as in 1897. It will be seen by the table that in the southern and south-western districts the total amount of sunshine for the past season was over 900 hours, giving a mean per day of more than 94 hours; in the Channel Islands the mean daily amount was nearly 10 hours. According to the average, based on 15 years' observations, the mean The values for these places have been obtained from Symons's Monthly Meteorological Magazine. |