214 j. nopkinson — meteorological obseevations 



Notes on the Months. 



The year 1878 was an exceptional one in many respects. It 

 commenced with an unusually warm winter ; it ended in one of 

 excejitional severity. It was a year of excessive rainfall, of wet 

 weather continued for long periods, and of lieavy falls of rain of 

 short duration. After a warm winter there followed a cold spring, 

 or rather, there was no appreciable rise in temperature from the 

 middle of winter — the coldest days of December or January — to 

 the end of March, and April was but a little warmer. May and 

 June were months of thunderstorms, July was generally fine and 

 warm, August excessively wet, and the only fine autumnal weather 

 was in September. In October a winter of almost unparalleled 

 duration commenced, and throughout almost the entire month of 

 December the ground was covered with snow.* 



In the following notes on the months, these and other phenomena, 

 60 far as they are not shown in the tables, are briefly treated of. 



January, 



Atmospheric pressure was generally high throughout the month, 

 but varied considerably. There were two well-marked minima — 

 on the 7th, 29-630 ins., and on the 25th, 29-353 ins.— and two 

 maxima — on the 11th, 30-646 ins., and on the 30th, 30292 ins., 

 the extreme range being thus 1-293 in. The most rapid rise in 

 the barometer was from the 7th to the 11th, being 1-016 in. in 

 four days. 



Air temperature was mostly high, the minimum only sinking 

 below 32'^ on eight days, and the maximum exceeding 40° on 

 twenty-four, and 50° on seven days. The coldest days were the 

 nth (min. 21°-6, max. 37°-3) and 12th (min. 24°-4, max. 38°-2), 

 corresponding with the days of greatest baromctiic pressure. A 

 cold period set in again on the 23rd, when the mean temperature 

 fell 13^ below that of the previous day, and the cold weather con- 

 tinued to the r2th of February. 



The prevailing direction of the wind was S. to S.~W. the first 

 week, then W. tx) N. to the 18th, S.W. to N.W. from the 19th to 

 the 29th, and N.E. the last two days. 



* As hi the tables relating to the different seasons, results for the month of 

 December, 1877. are necessarily included in the winter quarter, the results of ob- 

 servation taken in this mouth are here given : — 

 Decemher, 1877. 



Pressure of atmosphere, 30-05o ins. Tension of vapour, 0-215 in. 



Temperature of air— 9 a.m., SS^'-S; mean minimum, 35°-4 ; mean maximum, 

 45°-l; adopted mean, 38°-l ; mean daily range, 10°'7: absolute minimum, 'io^-O, 

 on the loth; absolute maximum, 52^-3, on the 6th. 



Dryness, 2^-6. Relative humidity, 91 per cent. 



Eaiufall— total, 2 14 ins. : maximum fall, 0-62 in. on the 28th : days of rain, 

 19 ; snow only, 3. 



Cloud— mean amount, 6-7 : days of clear sky, 3; overcast, 14. 



Wind— mean force, 1-3: days of N., 2; N.E , 2 ; S., 6 ; S.W., 9; W., 5 ; 

 N.W.,5; Calm, 2. 



