54 J. HOPKJJfSON — EEPOET Om THE 



1880-89, and 3- 19 inches above that for the half -century 1840-89.* 

 The year was therefore a decidedly wet one. 



February was unprecedently dry, no rain whatever being re- 

 corded at six stations, and at several others the amount recorded 

 was the result of condensed fog : the average at all stations, it will 

 be seen from the table, was one twenty-fifth of an inch. October, 

 on the other hand, was excessively wet, having had considerably 

 more than double the average rainfall of the fifty Octobers in 

 1840-89. The rainfall of the last six months of the year was more 

 than double that of the first six months, being 19-95 inches. This 

 is 5-16 inches, or 35 per cent., above the mean (14 79 ins.) for the 

 corresponding six months of the half -century 1840-89, and is 

 greater than in any year since 1880; indeed, with the exception 

 of the fall in that year, it is the heaviest in the corresponding 

 period that has been recorded since I commenced, in 1876, to give 

 annual reports on the rainfall in Hertfordshire, and probably since 

 the very wet year 1852. 



Distribution of Rainfall throughout the Year. — Of the total rainfall 

 20|-°/q fell during the winter months (Jan., Feb., and Dec), 

 20| °/q during the spring (Alarch to May), 26 °/q during the 

 summer (June to Aug.), and 33% during the autumn (Sept. to 

 jS^ov. ). The fall during each quarter and each season, and the 

 deviation from the mean for the half-century 1840-89, was as 

 follows : — 



Fall. Diff. Fall. Diff. 



Ist quarter 377 in. —1-86 in. Winter 6-01 in. +0-01 in. 



2nd ,, 5-80 -0-21 Spring 6-02 -|-0-50 



3rd ,, 7-62 -fO-SO Summer 7-84 -j-0'86 



4tli ,, 12-43 -f-i-96 Autumn 9-75 -fl-82 



February was, as already stated, unprecedently dry, and April, 

 June, and September were dry months ; October was excessively 

 wet, and May, August, and December were wet months. The 

 difference in each month from the mean for the half-centuiy was : — 



in. in. in. in. 



Jan —0-25 April —0-71 July —005 Oct -f3-30 



Feb —1-68 Mav -fMo Aug +1-56 Nov —0-28 



Mar -fO-06 June —0-65 Sept —1-20 Dec -|-l-93 



Thus the fall up to the end of July was more than two inches 

 below the mean for the period, but for the last five months in the 

 year more than five inches above it, an average excess of nearly an 

 inch per month. 



The absolute maximum fall in any one day in each month, and 



ins. 



3— Apsley Mills 0-79 



20— Therfield 1-75 



8— FanhamsHall,Waret 0-50 



6 -Fairhill, Berkliamsted 1-47 



10 - Kensworth 1-02 



1— Tring 1-36 



* See ' Trans. Herts. Nat. Hist. Soc.,' Vol. VI, p. 84. 

 t Also at New Barnet on the 3rd. 



