Ketums of Kainfall in Dorset 

 in 1914. 



By the Rev. H. H. TILNEY BASSETT, R.D. 



year 1914 from a meteorological point of view 

 is an interesting one ; some of the features of 

 this exceptionally wet year are, therefore, 

 noteworthy. 



The excess in the rainfall extended through- 

 out the British Isles, and as a whole was 6 per 

 cent, above the average. The centre of Dorset 

 gained the reputation of recording the greatest 

 rainfall for the year, the excess rising above 30 per cent. 

 The months of November and December fixed the character 

 of the year's rainfall. Up to October 21st there had been no 

 excess recorded ; but from that date a remarkably wet period 

 commenced, and from October 21st to the end of the year 

 there were only 20 days without rain, but the long-continued 

 rains of December, which gained for December, 1914, the 

 distinction of being the wettest December on record, was the 

 great feature of the year. The exceptionally long-continued 

 rains of that month were due to the peculiar slow movement 

 of the storm systems which arrived on our W. and N.W. 

 coasts, on several occasions remaining almost stationary 



