212 NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF 



Holkham, Norfolk W 



Helsten, Cornwall NW 



St. Aubin, Jersey NW 



Versailles, France NW., calm. . 



Brussels, Belgium SW., calm.. 



Heligoland, Denmark N., stormy . . . 



A disturbing element was, however, after a short lime introduced ; 

 at Jersey the wind set in from the westsouthwest on the morning of 

 the 2d, and a thaw commenced ; the wind was high from this quarter 

 at night, with heavy rain. A current also set in from the southwest, 

 both at Versailles and Brussels, with snow falling more or less during 

 the whole day. At Helsten, near Land's End in Cornwall, the wind 

 was northeast, and 7-lOLh inch rain fell in the night ; but it is quite evi- 

 dent that this rain, thrown down by the northeast wind, must have been 

 derived from the upper current Irom the southwest, as the air still re- 

 mained dry and frosty at Bath, on the west, and at Holkham, on the 

 east. This supposition is rendered highly probable, from the fact that 

 the upper stratum of clouds was from the southwest. It was some 

 time before the storm was dev(doped m the eastern counties. 



The wind seems to have begun to blow very briskly from an easterly 

 quarter over the south of England on the 3d, with much snow at night. 

 An inch of rain fell that day in Jersey, with a squally wind from the 

 east. The temperature remained low and the sky clear in Scotland 

 and the north of England. The wind was from an easterly quarter 

 that day at Paris, Brussels, and off the coast of Denmark. The south- 

 west upper current, still prevailing, saturated the air all over England 

 and the south of Scotland, and a violent storm of snow on the 4th was 

 the result, which extended over a large portion of the west of Europe, the 

 wind being easterly at almost all the different stations. It is curious to 

 observe that no snow or rain fell at Helsten, near Land's End, on the 

 4th, the point to which all the wind on the east coast was blown ; which 

 shows that it must have been absorbed in some way before reaching 

 the west coast. In Scotland the wind, on the 4th of January, was quite 

 as violent as in the south of England ; but very little snow fell on the 

 eastern coast. A deep snow fell, with a strong northeast wind, at the 

 temperature of 32°. The wind was excessively cold and dry in Aber- 

 deen, being as low as + 9° max. — 6° min. The upper current had not 

 influenced it sufficiently to raise the thermometer above these low 

 temperatures. During this very low temperature in Aberdeenshire, the 

 northeast wind was about 23° higher in Belfast. This difference of 

 temperature is vastly greater than in the case of a sea breeze, and might 

 alone account for the violent gale on the Irish coast. 



The disturbance of the equilibrium of the atmos])here in this and our 

 other winter storms seeins to be occasioned, first, by a flowing away 

 of part of the cold upper current, and a warmer and lighter air taking 

 its place; and, second, by the denser air below flowing towards the 

 warm and moist air over the ocean, which causes the saturated air to 

 rise to a greater elevation, and condense its moisture. The condensed 

 vapor, by the extrication of its caloric, favors ascending currents, which 

 are gradually absorbed into the upper current and carried towards the 

 earth. 1 have already mentioned that no snow or rain fell at Land's End 



