RAINFALL IN r)ORSET. 57 



Table III. At Swanage, on the decease of the Rev. J. Fix, 

 observations were carried on by Miss Fix to the end of the year, 

 when they were discontinued. They have also ceased at 

 Coombe Farm, Sherborne, owing to the removal of Mr. Creed. 

 No returns have been received from Chickerell Rectory. 



An inch of rain in 24 hours fell on 1 1 different days in the 

 course of the year — thus distributed : — On i day in February, 

 April, June, July, and December ; on 2 days in November ; and 

 on 3 in August. 



The wettest day was the ist of December, with an average fall 

 of •82in. ; the next to this was the i6th of August, with ■73in. 

 The heaviest fall occurred on the 6th of September at Fortland 

 Bill. The rain was very local. It began shortly before 1 1 p.m., 

 was exceedingly heavy between 4 and 6 a.m., and was continuing 

 at 8 a.m., when rSoin. was measured. At Chickerell, the only 

 place outside the Island with a record of more than an inch, the 

 amount was ri6in. ; at Wyke it was ■74in., Fleet House '71 in., 

 Abbotsbury 'Giin., and at West Lul worth '57in. Short of half an 

 inch at all the other stations, at Weymouth the depth was •48in. 

 The average rainfall on this day was •21 in. In North and at 

 some places in Central Dorset there was no rain. 



The number of rainy days, computed from thirty-one stations 

 marked with an asterisk in Table II., was 168. 



The ratio of the rainfall, deduced from twenty-five stations, 

 is 88'o, being 12 per cent, under the average. It varied between 

 a minimum of 81 '2 at Beaminster Vicarage, 81*3 at Buckhorn 

 Weston, and 81 "8 at Gillingham, and a maximum of 95 '8 at 

 Bridport, 94-6 at Blackdown House, and 94-2 at Shaftesbury. 

 The range — 14'6 is less than usual. 



The largest falls of rain for the year were : — Blackdown 

 House, 36"4iin. ; Cattistock, 35-6jin. At the other end of the 

 scale the fall at Buckhorn Weston was 23'i7in., at Weymouth, 

 24-28in,, and at Fleet House, 24-73in. 



Snow was recorded on 1 1 days between the 24th January and 

 9th of February, and on the 5th, 29th, and 30th of December; 

 14 days altogether, but never to a large amount. 



