124 



j. hopkinson meteoeological observations 



"Watfoed. 



For comparison the results of observations at the Greenwich 

 Observatory are computed as before. 



Greenwich. 



The year 1879 is chiefly remarkable for the extremely low 

 temperature which generally prevailed, and for the excessive rain- 

 fall of the first nine months. The mean temperature of each month 

 throughout the year was lower than that of the corresponding 

 month of the previous year ; and that, with the exception of tlie 

 winter with which it commenced, was also a cold year. The cold 

 ■was remarkable rather for its long continuance than for its severity, 

 and the absence of high maximum temperatures is a more excep- 

 tional feature than the occurrence of low minimum temperatures. 

 While the lowest reading registered at Watford was but 1° below 

 the lowest in 1878, the highest was as much as 7°-7 below the 

 highest in 1878. Again, the highest of the monthly minimum 

 readings was 4°-4 below the highest in 1878, and the lowest of the 

 monthly maximum readings was 4'^'1 below the lowest in 1878. 

 The year was also marked by the prevalence of north-easterly 

 winds in the winter and spring months, and the comparative infre- 

 quency of south-westerly winds in those months ; and by the small 

 amount of sunshine, the sky having been completely overcast at 

 the time of observation (9 a.m.) for nearly half the days in the 

 year, and clear for little more than one-tenth. The prevailing 

 character of the year may, in fact, be summed up in three words — 

 cold, wet, and sunless. In the following notes I shall refer but 

 very briefly to the principal changes, chiefly of temperature, in 



