RAINFALL IN DORSET. 113 



3rd, yth, and i5th of August, and from the 5th to the 7th of 

 September. 



In the great thunderstorms of July many casualties from 

 lightning are mentioned in the Press as having occurred at 

 Sherborne, Gillingham, Motcombe, Shaftesbury, where " hail- 

 stones fell the size of a florin but much thicker," Upper Wynford, 

 Compton Valence, West Stafford, Watercombe, East Burton, 

 Wool, and Wareham. At the latter place magnificent sunsets 

 were noticed on the igth and zoth; and between 8 and 9 p.m. 

 on the zist the sky overhead glowed for a short time with 

 a fiery red. The drought over North Dorset was broken about 

 5 p.m. on the 2 2nd by a storm lasting 2 hours. The general 

 progression of the storms was from north-west eastwards. The 

 grain crops were not much damaged, as there was but little wind. 



OBSERVERS' NOTES. 



BEAMINSTER, TOWER VIEW. Average highest temperature : 

 Jan. 4 6'5, Feb. tf"j, March 49'6, April 54'2, May 6o- 3 , 

 June 7o'6, July 73'2, Aug. 74'8, Sept. 66'3, Oct. 58'!, 

 Nov. 53'o, Dec. 43'i. Average 58'!. Highest maximum on 

 Aug. 3rd 84'6. During the year there were 80 days with the 

 shade maximum above 70, and of these 45 were consecutive 

 from the i4th of July to the 27th of August. Lowest reading of 

 the barometer corrected to sea-level 2 8 '42m. on December 29th ; 

 highest 30'77in. on November i7th. 



BERE REGIS VICARAGE. July 22nd. We were on the edge 

 of the great thunderstorm. A cottage at Buddens, near Hyde, 

 was struck by lightning, the roof being shattered. A large hole 

 was made in the centre of the ceiling of the downstairs room. 

 The storm was really on the morning of Sunday, the 23rd. 



On Sunday, the 23rd of July, after a week of intense heat, we 

 were visited by a memorable thunderstorm. Wareham seems to 

 have been the centre of the storm, and, fortunately for us, we 

 were more or less on the outskirts of it. At Wareham the 

 Church Tower was struck by lightning. At Binnegar Hall 

 2'85in. of rain was recorded at 9 a.m. and ruin, fell later in the 



