EAIXFALL IN HEETFOEDSniEE IN 1895. 119 



APPENDIX. 



Tlie Thunderstorms of the 22nd of August and the 7th of Septemler. 

 — The summer and early autumn of 1895 have been remarkable 

 for tbe number of thunderstorms which have occurred, doing much 

 damage in various parts of the country, and Hertfordshire suffering 

 severely. In several of these storms there have been only one 

 or two casualties, but in two of them considerable damage was 

 done throughout a great part of Hertfordshire. Both storms 

 occurred in the early morning, a rather unusual time. 



The storm of Thursday, the 22nd August, was accompanied by 

 heavy hail, by which most of the damage was done. It appears to 

 have lasted from 2 to 5 a.m., being most severe between 3 and 4. 

 In the neighbourhood of Berkhamsted, Hemel Hempstead, Redbourn, 

 and Harpenden the destruction of property was due to hail, the 

 hailstones being variously estimated as from the size of walnuts 

 to that of bantams' eggs. About Redbourn and Harpenden some 

 of the houses had not a sound piece of glass left in their windows, 

 and in one street in Harpenden nearly 300 window-panes were 

 broken, while the glass in conservatories was in some cases com- 

 pletely demolished. At Harpendenbury Farm turkeys were killed 

 by the hailstones. In the centre of the county the hailstorm was 

 less severe, but there were casualties from the lightning. At 

 Hertford, between 2 and 5 a.m., the thunder and lightning were 

 incessant, the heavens being one continuous sheet of flame. In 

 Panshanger Park a wych-elm was struck and two bullocks were 

 killed by the lightning, one sheltering under this tree, and the 

 other under a clump of trees not far off. On Lawrence End Farm 

 seven young pedigree beasts met with a similar fate. 



The rainfall during this storm was very unevenly distributed 

 over the county, being very heavy in the north, light in the 

 south-west, and erratic in the east. In the Ouse river-basin it 

 averaged r45 inch, ranging only from 1*32 in. to 1-52 in. ; in the 

 northern portion of the Colne it averaged 1"10 inch, ranging from 

 0'8l in. to 1"78 in. ; but in the southern portion of this river-basin 

 it only averaged 0*22 inch, ranging from O'lOin. to 0*36 in. In 

 the Lea river-basin the average was 0*41 inch, and the range 

 fi'om 0-10 in. to 094 in. 



The storm was renewed for a short time at 8 o'clock in the 

 morning, and again in the evening at the same hour, when vivid 

 forks of lightning played on an almost continuous sheet-lightning. 

 Shortly after 8 p.m. two Alderney cows and a heifer wei-e killed on 

 Townsend Farm, St. Albans, and cattle were also killed at about 

 the same time at Panshanger and elsewhere. 



The storm of Saturday, the 7th of September, was very severe 

 in the south-west of Hertfordshire. At Rickmansworth it is 

 stated to have been one of the heaviest which has been known 

 for several years. It lasted from 3 to 5 a.m. The rain fell in 

 torrents, floocUng some of the houses in High Street and others 



