TAKEN AT ST. ALBANS IN 1893. 63 



being- without rain. On severcal days clurinp; this period there 

 "were thimderstorms (on 8th, 9th, I'ith, and 26th). 



August. — Excessively warm, with a large daily range of tem- 

 pcratur(>, a very dry atmosphere of rather high pressure, a rather 

 bright sky, and a rather small rainfall on an average number 

 of days. The eleven days 8th to 18th were the warmest, having 

 a mean temperature of 72°-0 (9 a.m. 72°-8, min. 59°-8, max. 

 83'^-4), being about 12° above the average for the time of the 

 year. Coldest day 29th, mean 54°-9; warmest day 18th, mean 

 79°-6. Min. below 52° on 9 days ; max. above 62° every day 

 but one (27th), above 72° on 17 days, above 82° on 6 (9th, 10th, 

 and loth to 18th). No rain fell during the eight days 12th to 

 19th, and only 0*03 in. on one day during the 7 days 24th to 30th, 

 but one inch fell on the 4 days 20th to 23rd, being nearly half 

 the fall in the month. There were thunderstorms on 4th and 

 10th. 



Septejiber. — Of average temperature, with a rather large daily 

 range of temptirature, a dry atmosphere of average pressure, a 

 bright sky, and a very small rainfall on about the average number 

 of days. Coldest day 21st, mean 45°-8 ; warmest day 7th, mean 

 65°"5. Min. below 42° on 6 days ; max. above 62° on 20 days, 

 above 72° on 4 (5th, 6th, 14th, and 15th). The first half of 

 the month, during which only 0-20 in. of rain fell in two days, 

 was exactly 5° warmer than the second half, which had 0"88 in. 

 of rain on nine days, the mean temperature for the first 15 days 

 being 58°-6 (9 a.m.'58°-3, min. 49°-0, max. 68°-6), and for the last 

 15 days being 53°-6 (9 a.m. 53°-2, min. 46°-l, max. 61°-5). Thus, 

 while the weather from the first to the 15th was warm and dry, 

 from the 16th to the 30th it was cold, with nearly an average 

 rainfall. In fact our very warm, bright, and dry summer may 

 be said to have come to a close in the middle of September. 

 There was a thunderstorm on the 8th. 



October. — Rather warm, with a considerable daily range of 

 temperature, an atmosphere of average humidity and pressure, a 

 very bright sky, and a very heavy rainfall, but on about the 

 average number of days. Coldest day 31st, mean 36°-8 ; warmest 

 day 15th, mean 60°-8. Min. below 42° on 10 days, below 32° 

 on 1 (31st); max. above 52° on 27, above 62° on 5 (1st, 14th, 

 15th, 16th, and 21st). The temperature was very variable, and 

 the weather became cold towards the end of the month, especially 

 on the last two days (mean temp. 38°"9). Most of the rain fell 

 during the first half of the month, the fall after the 14th being less 

 than an inch, and the excess in the rainfall was almost entirely due 

 to the fall of 2-02 ins. on the 9th. There was a violent thunder- 

 storm on the 7th, at its height here between 6-35 and 6-48 p.m., 

 during which time the raiu came down in ton-ents, nearly half 

 ail inch falling in the thirteen minutes ; the lightning appeared 

 like balls of fire falling every minute or two, and for part of 

 the time the thunder was heard whilst the lightning was still 

 visible. The prevailing colour of the lightning-balls was blue, 



