352 The Weather of the Past Agricultural Year. 



sunshine was more abundant than usual in the south-east, and 

 less so in the south-west ; elsewhere there was no great diver- 

 gence from the normal. 



The Summer of 1912. 



The earlier part of the summer was marked l)y two or three 

 short spells of warmth, and in this respect the season compared 

 favourably with those of 187t) and 188H, when there was 

 practically no summer weather at all. With the advance of 

 time, however, the weather steadily deteriorated, a complete 

 break in the latter part of July leading up to one of the coldest 

 and wettest Augusts on record. 



The first fortnight in June was extremely cool and unsettled 

 with frequent thunderstorms, accompanied in many places 

 by exceedingly heavy rain. Some of the worst thunder- 

 storms occurred between the 9th and the 11th when hail and 

 sleet fell in the west and north, but heavy downpours of 

 rain were experienced on the 17th and 19th, the falls of the 

 17th covering a very wide area and reaching their maximum 

 severity in North Wales. At Lincoln an exceptionally violent 

 storm was accompanied by a fall of rain amounting to nearly 

 an inch in twenty minutes, and at Claypole on the same day 

 a fall of nearly three quarters of an inch was recorded in 

 seventeen minutes. Towards the close of the third week in 

 June a brief spell of summer warmth was experienced over 

 the south-eastern quarter of England, the thermometer on the 

 19th or 22nd rising to 80" and upwards in many localities, 

 and touching 84" at Greenwich and 85" at Isleworth. The 

 lowest June temperatures were recorded between the 3rd and 

 5tb, when slight ground frosts occurred in many parts of the 

 country, and as far south as Greenwich. 



Two brief spells of summer warmth were experienced in 

 the first half of July, one between the 4th and 6th, the other 

 between the 12th and 17th. In the earlier instance the 

 thermometer on the 6ih rose above 70" in nearly all districts, 

 and touched 77" in London (at Camden Square). The later spell 

 lasted somewhat longer, and produced the highest temperatures 

 of the whole summer. On the 12th the thermometer in the 

 shade rose above 85° in many parts of eastern, central, and 

 southern England, and touched 90" at Greenwich and 91" at 

 Tottenham, Camden Square, and Isleworth. On the 14th and 

 15th the heat was more general, shade readings of 85" and 

 upwards being observed over a large portion of Great Britain ; 

 at Camden Square the thermometer reached 90", and at Ports- 

 mouth it touched 95". After the 17th a rapid fall of tem- 

 perature occurred, and on the 19th the maximum readings of 

 the thermometer were in many places below 60° or nearly 



