CLIMATE 53 



east winds are common, the West Coast is frequently much 

 sunnier than the East. Locally, the sunniest and driest 

 weather is experienced in the months of April, May, and 

 June, crops sometimes suffering from drought during that 

 period. 



In the daily sunshine returns for May and June 1909, 

 published from health and holiday resorts all over the 

 country, Oban, for a period, remained at the top of the list. 

 In addition to this remarkable duration of sunshine, the 

 climate of the district is characterised by other notable 

 features. Analysis has shown that, for purity, its atmo- 

 sphere is unexcelled in Europe ; and while all along the West 

 Coast the rainfall is considerable, the humidity is less than 

 that of Brighton and other health resorts in the south of 

 England. The dryness of the atmosphere in Colonsay may 

 be gathered from the rapidity with which the soil and the 

 roads dry even after heavy rains. 



Temperature of the Sea. The mean annual temperature 

 of the sea on the West Coast of Scotland is 49'l F., ranging 

 (at Oban) from 43 '3 F. in March (the coldest period) to 

 55 '7 F. in August. In shallow bays, at full tide on a sunny 

 day, the temperature is much higher, and in Colonsay the 

 sea is much warmer on the southern than it is on its deeper 

 northern shores. On the East Coast of Scotland the mean 

 annual temperature of the sea is 1 to 2 F. less than that 

 of the West, ranging (at Dunbar) from 40'3 F. in March to 

 56*4 in August. The temperatures of the sea and the air 

 are about equal on the East Coast ; on the West Coast 

 the temperature of the sea is 2 to 3 F. in excess of that of 

 the air. 



