148 J. HOPKTNSON METEOEOLOGICAL OBSEEVATIONS 



temperature was 28°-4 at St. Albans, 25° at Berkhamsted, and 

 24° at Hertford, the exposed thermometer on the grass registering 

 20° at Berkhamsted, and 16° at Hertford. The 23rd was also 

 a cold night, the minimum shade temperature being 31°-2 at 

 St. Albans, 29° at Berkhamsted, and 27° at Hertford. There 

 was about the usual amount of bright sunshine, and on only two 

 or three days in the month was no sunshine recorded. The 

 temperature was very variable. 



Mat. — A cold month, with a humid atmosphere, a cloudy sky, 

 and a very heavy rainfall on a large number of days. The defect 

 in temperatiu'e was entirely due to the colduess of the days, the 

 mean claily range of temperature being much smaller than usual. 

 The dui'ation of bright sunshine was considerably less than 

 usual. On no day was the sky quite cloudless at 9 a.m. at 

 Bennington, on only one day at St. Albans, and two days 

 at Berkhamsted, while it was completely overcast at the same 

 hour on 15 days at St. Albans, 16 at Berkhamsted, and 17 at 

 Bennington. There was a south-westerly gale on the 11th 

 reported fi-om Berkhamsted and St. Albans, which reached its 

 height about noon. The temperatm'e was very variable, the 

 minimum in the shade varying from one degree above fi'eezing 

 at several places to as high as 52° at Hertford. On the 19th 

 the maximum in the shade was 49° at Berkhamsted, 49°'8 at 

 St. Albans, and 51° at Hertford; on the 23rd it was 71°-9 at 

 St. Albans and 74° at Berkhamsted and Hertford. 



June. — Another cold month, the coldest June for the last twelve 

 years except that of 1892, of average humidity, with a veiy 

 cloudy sky, and with an average rainfall, but on more than the 

 usual number of days. The defect in temperature was almost 

 entirely due to the coldness of the days, the daily range of 

 temperature being less than usual. There was considerably less 

 than the usual amount of bright sunshine, and at Bennington 

 and Berkhamsted only one day was quite cloudless at 9 a.m. 

 The mean rainfall at our five meteorological stations was exactly 

 the same as the mean for the whole of the 48 rainfall stations in 

 the county, but there was a great variation between that of one 

 station and another, Boyston and Bennington having more than 

 twice as much as Berkhamsted, the smallest fall in the county 

 being registered at Rosebank. 



July. — Of average temperature, with a rather diy atmosphere, 

 an average amount of cloud, and a very small rainfall on very few 

 days. The nights were colder than usual and the days rather 

 warmer, giving a considerable daily range of temperature. The 

 rainfall was about one -third the average, and on half the usual 

 number of days. The duration of bright sunshine was considerably 

 greater than usual, and not a single day was quite sunless. There 

 was an absolute drought of 16 days, July 2 to 17, at Berkhamsted, 

 St. Albans, and New Barnet, but a little rain fell on the 9th at 

 Royston and Bennington. Thunder was heard at St. Albans on the 

 afternoon of the 27th, and there was a thunderstorm there on the 



